A birthday bash

“Tomorrow is my birthday, I am thinking of skipping work”, my neighbour said. “How do you wish to celebrate it?” I asked the forty-year-old man. “I guess I will relax by getting up late, go to a Chinese restaurant, watch a movie, and spend time with my friends after cutting a cake,” he replied.

This reply triggered some memories. I remembered the birthdays I used to celebrate as a child. My mother would ask me what I wanted to eat and would cook that dish for me. She would spend a few days bent over a sewing machine, and stitch a dress and in the morning, she would wake me up early, and do “aarthi”. After an ‘oil bath’, she would light a lamp and ask me to pray. I would distribute candy to my classmates, and in the evening call all my friends in the neighbourhood and give them the special sweet that my mother had prepared.

In those days, no one knew of eating out or cutting cakes. Everything was freshly prepared with love and labour. Birthdays were busy days, we needed to take the blessings of the elders, pray and make a resolution for that year. It’s amazing to see the evolution of this homely affair to one that employs gigantic industries.

Today people come up with novel ideas to celebrate the day. Arranging for a clown, a puppet show, magic show, movie, conducting orchestras, booking a swimming pool, boating etc. People celebrate on aeroplanes, hot air balloons, cruises etc.

Birthdays have become big business not just for card companies, but also for other businesses. People not only celebrate children’s birthdays, but there are also special events organised when one turns eighteen, twenty-one, forty and fifty.

It is not uncommon to see people celebrating even pet birthdays. The dog wears designer clothes, a ribbon with a bow dog and a cake cutting ceremony follows--feeding the dog first and then the guests!

I have seen kids bringing a ‘loot bag’ after a party and dumping it as if they were not happy with the contents. What a colossal waste! Parents spend sleepless nights planning birthdays.

The day is not far when one would plan a trip to the moon or a spacecraft for a birthday! Whatever way we celebrate it, birthdays are when we are grateful to God and our parents for bringing us into this world. Remembering them and saying thanks by doing charity should be a part of this celebration.