(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?
