Birthday parties...its different !!

I remember cutting a Birthday cake only once. My dad's stories are even worse. They hardly realised their birthdays come and go, forget cakes, that was the time where only raagi balls (raagi mudde) was predominant.

Today, birthdays are big things. Take for instance, my cousin's son's 2nd birthday - Very trendy, jazzy and loud. It was not just about cutting a cake, it was about games. Elders and kids played varieties of games together, such that, I was not able to make out who was the adult, and who was the kid. And to organize such games, there are people, but they cost your wallet. Return gifts are so awesome, I hoped I could go and grab one too. I remember, during our times (which is not 'once upon a time', lets say about 10 years back), the concept of 'return gifts' rarely existed. At the most, it involved carrying home the left-over chocolates. Today, we need to bribe these kids to attend functions, and then you need to bribe them again, to take them back home !

Dinner was delicious, and I spared nothing. Eny of Day 1.

Day 2 - another birthday. This one was totally different. No music, no games, no partying, just people getting together. Calm and a serene atmosphere. And it had its own beauty in it. Lesser people, talking, having fun.

Evening - another Birthday Party. Different again. No buffet system. More people, more noisier, more laughter, more fun. The one thing common in all 3 parties was - we enjoyed it, food was good, the parents were happy, but the 'birthday kid' was in a "Who the hell are all you people" mood !! All off a sudden, the soft cheeks of the 'little one' is targetted, literally by everybody. Today's kids have everything - electronic toys, clothes, sometimes even mobile phones. But what they don't understand is - "why the heck have all these people come, and why are they always looking at my cake ?" I guess birthdays should begun only at 2 or 3 years of age, and not before that.

My dad has certain rules about celebrating birthdays. I agree with him mostly.

Rule #1 Do not blow the candles, rather light the candles (you need to spread light, not switch it off)

Rule #2 Do not put on loud music, or else the food won't get digested

Rule #3 When cutting the cake, do not burst balloons directly on top of it, and do not mess up the cake with any non-food material

Rule #4 Do not make the b'day kid uneasy, and do not celebrate its birthday until it understands what 'a birthday' is

I have made up a fifth rule, and I guess this is the most important of all !!

Rule #5 Give return gifts to elders too, especially 21 year olds