birth day celebrations

I have often wondered and often passed stringent comments on thsoe who used to celebrate birth days.In fact i do not recall any celebrations in my house hold itself till i turned 15, of any bith days, be it that of father , mother , sisters or brother.

Perhaps my hardened stance on birth days is due to lack of celebrations of any such birth days in my younger years or perhaps it may be attributed to my own revulsion at the way in which some of the political leaders used to make it as an advertising compaign to reach their ends.

I think my first remembrance of a birth day was when my father turned 60 (Shastiapthapoorthi celebrations).And mind you i was hardly 5years old and thus the memories of this event were as temporary as a passing shadow.

The time when i realised the importance of a birth day was when i moved to my sister's house, when i was about 13years old.My sister and brother in law, in their income, which was then just sufficient to make both ends meet used to celebrate their birthdays, those of their siblings and that of mine too.Even then i used to think it as a waste of money as i knew how difficult to earn a rupee in those days.But my brother in law(in his best moods) is a person whose passion, enery and enthusiasm in such matters is sort of contagious and whether you wish or not you will be engulfed by it.

There will be invariably a visit to the temple in the morning hours, follwed by some sweets at the house, some outing to a theatre near by in the evening ,preceded by a session at a near by hotel (it used to be invariably My coffee bar near Shathi theatre in those days).The sessions at the hotel used to be fun (and at times embarassing too) as he(my BIL) used to order for a plate of bajji or Mangalore bonda(to which my wife developed an instant liking in those days and may be for the same reason i developed an instant dislike!!) and then start cutting it and distributing to the memebers of the family.(If you count it there will be atleast half a dozen members ).Obviously with the first round of distribution the tiffin is over.

What was behind that distribution is love and affection,A desire to treat in the best way possible not withstanding the limitation of resources and ensuring every ingredient is present (thogh in limited manner)to make it lively At this point of time in life when i spend hundreds of rupees on any outing and when i compare the outings i used to have then and now, and the levels of satisfaction derived,then and now, the former is a winner, hands down.

And the habit imbibed from my BIL slowly grew and as it normally happens , found its outlet when i became a lover/husband/father in that order.And slowly the pleasure of giving, rather than the pleasure of receiving started sinking in.And also the message behind such celebrations.

The birth is a god send gift to us and lease period is in suspence..In the intervening period, it is not merely enough if we have our love and our affection on those around us unless the same is given an outlet in some form, be it words, be it some gifts ...

And only very few people like my son have a gift of words to show their love and affection with out any contamination whatsoever..Those who would like to have a glimpse of his vocabulary , reach and depth may pay a visit to his blog "The endless
horizons" .

This post is not intended to have a reference to the blog, it is a reference to the
energy, love and affection that such words can show on one's birth day making him/her feel as if he/she had really done something worth justifying their living in this universe.

If that be the case every birth day is worth celebrating, for it is reiteration of values, bonding, friendship and ever lasting love and affection..AND THAT IS THE LESSON LEARNT ON THE 60TH BIRTH DAY....

A MOMENTOUS DAY AFTER 4 YEARS

3/10/2010

The sky was overcast.There were welcome drizzles.Only for a short time. But enough to create the right mind set for us to rejoice the day in full.

Yes an occasion that calls for celebration and celebration of the highest order.This was the day when my choice of a female child was honoured by the almighty, 25 years back.It was the birth day of my beloved daughter.

And we were together to celebrate the event, after a span of 4 years of seperation when she was busy and away from us with her academics first and with her career later.Yes of course, the absence of her beloved brother ,to be with us, on this day was to some extent a dampening one .But then we overcame that by talking with him atleast 3/4 times ,there by making it appear that he was there with us mentally if not physically.

And when i look back these 25 years, i have got more than one reason to feel contended and grateful.From a child (when she beat her brother in taking the first subtle step to walk) till now, it had been a colourful episode, marked by her stunningly passionate(yet underlined by a very subtle and soft undertone)escapades .The first ever memories however point out to a child always leaning and longing for her mother.BuT AS DAYS PROGRESSED THERE WERE MORE SIMILARITIES between father and daughter(as my son used to recall often) in various walks of life, including taste for chilly food and an admiration to carrer options.

Getting the state rank in economics, completing the career at college by travelling thru a rode, which was under construction (from the start of her graduation till she finished it!!), getting involved in an accident which could have proved fatal, but coming out of it with no grudges or complaints, all point out to a firm personality behind the facade of that lean outer traits and that ever ready smile on the face.It is a beautiful flower with lovely fragrance but which will not be withered by outside happenings. There is a steel of nerve and a passionate heart within ,which makes the life growing and flowing all at the same time.

You can leave a house in rambles and come back after an hour to see that every thing is in place, bright and beautiful under her care.Whether it be her willingness to extend a helping hand (or a scratching hand!!) to relieve me of the itching which develops only when i sit for my dinner, or whether it is the soothing words with which she address me and my wife when ever we are about to make an argument into a war of words, or whether it is the swiftness with which she changes her dresses (Her fondness of new dresses, Chappals ,gadgets etc ,not necessarily in that order is itself a trqat to watch), the speed with which she addresses a problem ...oh the list is endless. She is a precious child and a gift of god .

May all her wishes come true and all her dreams become a reality. To mark that special day, we went for a break fast at one of the secluded but still popular restaurant in the morning, followed by a movie(seen by her for the second time in twenty four hours, to keep us company), and then a lunch at Sangeetha . I was teasing her for a commission on taking her to Sangeetha(details are personal).
By the time we returned back home, it was a day lived in its true colours , befitting the occasion and possibly setting the right tone and a note of music to linger for ever indays to come in her future.

My dear daughter
I ADMIRE YOU,
I ADORN YOU AND
I PRAY FOR YOU &
above all
MY DEEPEST AFFECTION AND LOVE TO YOU
on this momentous day...and every day that follows..