Celebrating my birthday…. When I was a small girl, I looked forward to my birthday. In fact I would eagerly wait for my birthday months in advance. The celebrations were never very elaborate. There were no lavish birthday parties and the concept of expensive birthday gifts like high-end mobile phones or other gadgets was non-existent and unheard of. The celebration used to be simple, yet very warm and filled with lots of love. While coming out of the bed early morning, I would be greeted by my mom with a warm hug and a big birthday kiss. I never remember her formally wishing me a “Happy Birthday”, but her eyes and her touch would say more than those two words could ever say…. The day would begin with going to the temple and praying to God for “changli buddhi” and coming back with a handful of sweet Prasad, mostly sheera. If it were a weekday, I would be sent to school as usual. We used to be exempted from wearing uniforms on our birthdays and going to the school wearing a civil dress used to be a major attraction of the day. My birthday gift would mostly be a new dress. New clothes in those days would be a big thing, for they would be bought only on two occasions in a year, one my birthday and second, for Diwali. So I would get ready with my new dress on, hair tied into two plaits and off to school with some toffees for the classmates and the teacher. I still remember while in kindergarten, there was a boy in my class called Ajit Nerurkar. I used to share my birthday with him. He was a lean and fair boy wearing spectacles even at that age, very bright, always used to stand first in the class. His father, I think, was in the merchant navy and he used to distribute imported chocolates and return gifts to everyone in the class. My simple toffees would be overshadowed by his expensive chocolates and I remember, how then, I used to feel belittled in a way. However, that feeling wouldn’t last too long, for as soon as school was over, I would be super duper excited to get back home, for my mom would always take a day off from work for my birthday!!!! That was THE most important reason I would be so excited about my birthday… because that would mean a day off from the creche. Mom would welcome me home with a freshly made warm lunch, which was otherwise a luxury for me during the weekdays when I would be in the crèche all day. She would mostly make home-made Shrikhand or Basundi or sometimes even a modest Prasadacha Sheera or a Shevayanchi Kheer. In the evening when my father used to get back home from Office, he would always have a surprise in store for me. You know what, it would be a double bonanza for me when he used to come home with an additional gift for me… it mostly used to be crayons or water colours with a colouring book (as I was very fond of painting then) or a glossy story book. And then, would come the biggest celebration of the day… the Aukshan. My mom would make me sit cross-legged on a ‘Paat’ (a low wooden sitting arrangement) with beautiful rangoli around it, lit a niranjan (a diya or lamp) in a tamhan (a plate specially meant for pooja purposes), a supari (beetlenut) and a finger ring, some haldi-kumkum, akshata (rice) and a small piece of cotton. It would be called the “ovalne” and at the end of it, she would place the cotton piece on my head and bless me “kapsa sarkhi mhatari ho” (may you live a long long life)…. Her eyes would gleam with so much of joy while doing the Aukshan! There was no cake-cutting, no singing “happy birthday to you”, no parties, candle-light or whatever. Yet, those birthdays used to be so exquisite, so joyous…. Then my marriage happened and my husband, Sunil came into my life. He is a person always full of life and enthusiasm. He is always more excited about my birthdays than myself. Today at the age of 37, I no longer feel the same enthusiasm and excitement about my birthday as I used to when I was a child. Yet, he makes sure that I celebrate it… with a cake cutting, an outing, a lunch or dinner out, gifts and all…. and I am really thankful to him for that. He always makes sure that the child in me stays alive and kicking… Today, I feel really blessed to have such wonderful people around me… My family, my friends, my teachers, my colleages, and all you wonderful readers of The Annapurna in You! I owe you all a big THANK YOU! With lots of love and care, Sonal
Posted on: Tue, 01 Oct 2013 01:09:09 +0000
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