Birthday celebrations make memories lasting a lifetime
The travails and turbulences have mellowed me down yet the enthusiasm that builds as my birthday approaches has remained as effervescent as ever
Age is just a number. One is as old as one feels. And many such axioms preach us mere mortals. I have thoroughly enjoyed my awkward teens, merry twenties, experimental thirties, naughty forties and embraced sedate fifties. My perspective towards life has undergone a sea of change. The travails and turbulences have mellowed me down yet the enthusiasm that builds as my birthday approaches has remained as effervescent as ever.
During school days, I looked forward to my birthday. Birthday dress, matching footwear, complimentary accessories – entailed tremendous planning and I kept Ma on her toes for the exclusive two birthday dresses – one for school and another for the evening party. As long as my memory goes, I have invited friends home. Birthdays call for celebration. As life transitioned from school to college to university and finally to college, these norms are an integral part of my existence i.e. two dresses and the get-together.
I vividly remember donning a broad smile offering toffees to the principal, strutting down the corridor offering toffees to all teachers and saying ‘thank you’ in the sweetest voice, humility personified and finally up and down the row in the class, surreptitiously leaving an extra on my best friend’s table. Myriad accomplishments of life, lavish parties have failed to match the puerile happiness.
With the passage of time, many friends drifted away, new bonds were forged and a wide circle of relatives added post matrimony. Contemporary technology boom has added a new category of social media friends besides providing numerous connectivity platforms. Celebrations, too, have undergone tremendous change and yours truly was all set, looking forward to her upcoming birthday, in modern style.
With bated breath, I lay awake awaiting ‘the stroke of midnight’ to usher a new year with video calls from kids, family and friends. Mobile notifications showered blessings and gratitude in abundance. The new dawn instilled a bounce in my aching limbs. I leapt to answer the doorbell to receive blooming bouquets and delicious cakes. Various groups were flooded with messages. While many posted routine customary ones or copied the prompts, a few sent sincere ingenious ones, well phrased as well as emotional ones, straight from the heart.
Warm hugs, buoyant cheers and exuberant wishes engulfed me as I entered the staffroom. My phone gallery filled with so many photographs clicked, ones I would frequently view, and the candid moments uploaded on social accounts as status updates and profile photos. Much as I would chastise myself, tried to remain grounded, yet the glee was hard to control.
I offered prayers of thanks to the Maker, undertook charity and thoroughly enjoyed with family and friends. Every ping on the mobile had me unlocking it instantly to reply with meticulously drafted messages and emojis. My school friend joked about age-related health concerns, but for me replying with a chocolate emoji was akin to distributing toffees in the class. Umar chahe ho gayi hai pachpan, par dil mein toh hai bachpan!
The writer is a Jagadhri-based freelance contributor and can be reached at kalrasuruchi@yahoo.com
