I was just talking about this with my boyfriend the other day, and I just HAD to blog about it! There are so many memories attached with this cute little egg-shaped gadget. I first saw the tamagotchi when I was in 8th grade. My friend had just come back from the States (we lived in Panama at that time) and brought it along with her and I had no idea what it was or what it did at the time. Honestly, I thought it was some kind of pager in a really cute casing because it beeped so much! But then one random day, literally overnight, it became the latest “it” thing and everyone just had to have it! It took our school (and every school, really!) by a storm!
For all of the people who have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about , the tamagotchi is a digital pet, which was first launched around 1996. Basically, you buy the pet of your choice (dog, cat, fish, etc) and your job is to take care of it the way you would a real pet. You have to feed him, play with him, clean up after he does his business etc and if you don’t do it well, the pet falls sick or EVEN worse, DIE!! And you don’t want that on your conscience now, do you??:P
Now, I’ve never really had a pet before (we move around so much, it’s just not very feasible) so the idea of having a virtual pet at that time, which DID look virtual and not like those creepy ones they make today that look so freakishly real, was very appealing! I practically begged my parents for days to buy me one. They are the really conservative “concentrate on your studies” kind of parents, so it took a LOT of begging, but eventually my stubbornness won and they got me a tamagotchi dog in a pretty red casing. Of course, the greedy person that I am, I also secretly wanted a bear and a penguin, but I made my peace with a dog!
The funniest part was that guys really got into it as well, and although they picked “manly” pets like dinosaurs and aliens, it was just so funny to see their “maternal instincts” come out over a piece of gadget! Of course, it was only a matter of time before they got banned in schools! Our teachers used to be teaching and we would all be busy mothering our tamagotchis! But, honestly, they shouldn’t have been! They should have been a legit home economics class experiment, in my opinion! As it is, we had this experiment in our Home Ec. class where we were supposed to make dolls and carry them with us everywhere for a whole week, pretending like they were our real babies. We had men (well, more like adolescent teenage boys at the time!) pushing strollers and carrying baby bottles and other baby stuff with them all over school! HILARIOUS!
And it was only a matter of time until parents got involved with all the insanity, because guess who was taking care of our pets, while we were at school? And we all know how tech savvy most parents are, right? It became one of their favorite tea-time conversations, where they all laughed and one-upped each other on how they accidentally killed the pet. And we would just cross our arms, give them mean looks and think, “How COULD they do this!!” Yup, everyone who ever owned this gadget has some disturbing “What my parents did” story to tell.
So, did you also own a tamagotchi? If you did, share your story!! And if you didn’t, I would love to hear about something that was a “big deal” when you were back in school! And please don’t say Facebook; not because I’ve something against Facebook, but because the idea of Facebook being launched when you were STILL in middle/high school is really depressing and makes me feel a gazillion years old!! Not cool, people. Not cool!! 😉
Lots of Love,
SK
I am smiling after reading your story. I had no idea about this ‘gadget’ up until now. I have been thinking really hard but nothing has ever been a real ‘big deal’ … Meh! What a bore my childhood has been 😛 Haha!
i love ur post! simply love it! trip down our ‘bachpan’ n all dat we were.. 🙂
I’d never heard of this uptil now,but it sounds fun.I could use it,given that real animals with their poop irk me real bad. 🙂
cute post.
ahhahahahahahahaha
someone’s in a very funny mood
lol an’t stop laughing
the name itself is so funny..tamagotchi! sounds like a hindi gaali if said in a gross way like i’m just doing right now…saallaa tamagotchi!
anyway, it looks super cute and i wish i had one too back then…in those dinosaur ages
we had nothing fun like this when we were in school..what did your boyfriend say was fun in his school days?
i used to drown my barbies in mom’s washing machine.. or kill ants in a game called “ant operation” with a cousin.
didn’t have any gadgets… used to have that water-game….some bubble thing…press a button and something pops up…i don;t remember now, it was cute too
and this Rs. 2 digital watch with fixed timings – 10:10 and 5:00…. move ur wrist and time changes..woowwww MAGIC
lol sorry, had no tamagotchi 🙁
@ Dipti: I know!! I thought it sounded like a Hindi gaali too!! Lol @ your Rs.2 digital watch..hilarious!! Ooh I remember I always wanted one with that weird Santa cap thing on it!! And him..he has amnesia..every time I talk to him about his childhood he says he doesn’t remember anything..except that he made friends with a rat..yup a RAT…the one thing I hate the most he goes and makes friends with that!!!!
yeh naam he kitna pyaara hai.. “Tamagotchi”, If I would have found this name in childhood, kitna maza aata. In India its always after some 10-15 yrs, these kinda gadgets arrives as compared to foren :P. May be my kids will play with this.
But ya, I used to have one horse, that lakdi ki kathi, kathi pe ghoda wala horse and one white puppy for my younger brother, I totally used to take care of them and used to pamper them with maa baap ka pyaar. If my horse would be living, he would have cried with khushi ke aansu.! I used to wash him twice a day. I had him with me till my 9th, that was too much.!
Also, my younger bro was my another Tamagotchi 😉 and till now he is.
You are right boys also feels and knows to take good parental care, it just needs some ignition.
Loved your story.
@ Shantanu: heheh @ maybe my kids will play with it!!! Oh I had a lakdi ki kathi horse too..I think I used to call it that as well!! heheh!! And how sweet..your lil bro was your tamagothi…awww I think if he hears that he will cry khushi ke aansu!! 😛
i have no idea about this gadget. i don’t remember seeing one also..may be bcoz i am not at all into gadgets and don’t really associate with them..all i remember from my childhood are my tea party sets and barbie. i had just three different barbies (one at a time) but i was kinda crazy about them 🙂
pass this msg to your boyfriend : OLD AGE OLD AGE OLD AGE OLD AGE OLD AGE
I had a lakdi ki kathi horse too.It wore clothes.And all my friends used to sit on it.It succumbed to the constant burden 🙁
First time on your blog. You’ve maintained an amazing place =)
Well, the name itself is so funny, like dipti said some gaali, ‘tamaa-got-chi’ =D lol. How cool it would have been having a virtual pet, I have an idea.
I can’t really remember what I had in my old-age except for those bubble guns and my kitchen sets. Ah, good old days!
I guess I am the first person to comment who has heard of a tamagotchi! god they were such a rage at one point in the 90s and then they sank without a trace…
this post sure does remind of simpler times; Like when us kids used to play ‘brick game’ for entertainment due to the supreme lack of other portable entertainment devices! what a trip down memory lane 🙂
@ Nostalgic: Hi and welcome to my blog 🙂 I used to have those kitchen sets too..I loved that stuff!!
@ Pepperspray: Yaay finally one person knows about this!! I loved the brick game too..it was addictive!!
@ Dipti: I remind him of his senior citizen status every day!! 😛
This is the first time I am hearing of it and you know what?…I think I missed out on a really essential and fun part of growing up!…May be I could get one for my 21st birthday!
Awright where the heck was I when you were playing around with this one?? :X
I played with dolls till I effing grew up this big. gah! Well I did have a thing for those small hand-held videogames that were a rage! And keychains. I just sound stupid now! 😛
Splurjo : EK CRAZY THOUGHT –
as 99%logon ne usko nahi dekha.
please ek kaam karo naa, hum sabko, jinhone Tamagotchi nahi dekha, ekek tamagotchi bhejdo. Hum tumko hamare bachpan ka Indian tamagotchi bhej denge. 😛 😛
OMG! I was so talking about these the other day!
poolovesboo.blogspot.com
Sounds an exciting tool, I never had something like this ever in school. Even in college mobiles were a status symbol available with few, but that was ten years back
Your parents are much similar to my folks though I never argued with them much. And I never got to travel much
@Shantanu: Good idea!! Well not for everyone..but I should do a giveaway or something!! 😛