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?


5 comments:

  1. First time on your blog,Sandeep.
    Glad to know that you too are from Ghaziabad.
    Hope to see you in tomorrow meet.

    i liked your nice presentation.
    Thanks.
    If find time,please visit my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for dropping by...
    I am very excited for the meet. See you there :)
    I visited your blog and although Hindi is not my forte(actually I can barely manage), I liked your interpretations of spiritual texts.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for your visit on my blog.
    I hope you would develop a taste
    for Hindi also.
    Please keep visiting and drop your valuable
    comment too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. happy b'day frn.. :)
    u r actually right in ur post here.. times HAVE changed, and so have our B'day celebrations..

    ReplyDelete
  5. thank 'u frn.. :)
    time will keep changing...i am trying to adapt to it...

    ReplyDelete