C is for… Child’s Birthday Today

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It’s Aaryan’s birthday. He turns 11 today. I imagined waking him up with a kiss and a hug. Watched him as his lazy sleepy eyes open and instantaneously sparkle when it dawns that today is his special day. This is his big day and he always looks forwards to celebrate this day in a big way.

I can see the multiple lists he has made (I smile smugly at the knowledge of the gene pool that has contributed for his list making habit)…

  • his personal list comprising of the new clothes, shoes, spectacles he’d want…
  • his friends list which would have some names scratched off the list and then added again…
  • the menu he would want for the party
  • the options for the cake… he prides himself in having a unique theme for his cake every year
  • a secret list (which would not be shared with anybody) of the gifts he’d want… just in case the grand parents, aunts and some friends ask about his choice of gift

The images of the party in action are vividly appearing in front of me…

The group of boys ranging from 8 to 14 years, huddled over somebody’s WWE Slam Attax cards. I can hear their cheers and excited ‘bragging sharing of knowledge’ over the WWE players.

The announcement from the sister that the party games are about to begin. I can hear the cheers and a few groans too…

The cake is about to be cut and all assemble around it. The little ones can’t resist touching the sides of the cake with their fingers and licking it speedily before anybody reprimands. The cake is no longer cut with parents or grand parents holding the knife… it is an affair which the friends manage. They cut it together and one enterprising friend has smeared the cake on Aaryan’s face. While the elders are shaking their heads in disapproval, the birthday boy is enjoying it thoroughly. It is like a sacrosanct ritual…

The food is being attacked with gusto…

The gifts are opened with impatience writ large on the face. ‘The Aha!’ outnumber the ‘Oh!’

I see a tired but a very content and happy child …

A beep from the phone breaks my reverie and … on a day like this I wish our son was not studying in a Boarding School.

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