Birthday!

(8 yr old: Maa&Baba wish at 6 AM, 8 candles on the cake in the evening;

20 yr old: Friends wish at midnight, Maa&Baba at 6AM, a candle shaped as “20” on a cake in the evening;

24 yr old: Fewer friends wish at midnight, Maa&Baba still wish at 6AM, don’t like cakes anymore)

There was a time-

When birthdays meant balloons,

Colorful dresses, candles and boons;

Distributing chocolates in school,

Receiving gifts in wrappers uber-cool!

When birthdays meant family outings,

If they fell on holidays;

Picnics and playful mornings,

Delicious delicacies post noon,

Payesh by Maa in a teaspoon,

Snacks and games with friends,

Evenings which now feel like blue moon!

There was a time-

When birthdays meant waking up in the morning

To “Happy Birthday” wishes, Maa’s and Baba’s kisses;

Expensive one-minute STD calls from relatives

“For the birthday-boy, best wishes!”

When breakfast to dinner was gluttony

Life was as perfect as symphony.

There was another time-

When birthdays meant GPLs

Friends dragged you out of your bed

At midnight- cruel smiles on each face

While carrying you to virtually a deathbed!

In the midst of this laughter and noise,

Attending calls from forgotten friends.

Face smeared with cakes,

As sounds of- “Treat! Treat!”

Reverberated from the campus lakes.

Times have changed-

Birthdays moved from the small room

To the world outside,

From family, relatives to friends,

And now to "non-friends"

From home-made food to college-gate vendors

And now to posh restaurants,

From games to GPLs and treats

And now to refined silence;

From cards to phone-calls and SMSes

And now to the cyberspace.

Over the years, one thing hasn’t changed-

The sense of joy of having born

In to this beautiful world,

Isn’t it an achievement in itself?