My Birthday And My Buddies

It had all started in the year 2007. I was at home enjoying my vacation and very unsure as to what I was going to do as part of my graduation studies. I had little chances of entering into medical studies and a career in engineering looked very obvious then. Nevertheless fun and frolic hardly seemed affected. So in the last hour of 6th July 2007, around eleven thirty, I had surprise visitors at my gate. When I looked down from my balcony I was amazed to see three close buddies, Ravi, Alok and Pabitra aka Pabby standing there with evident upbeat and clear intentions of giving me a bash. I welcomed them home and the rest of the time became part of the best of best memories I have so far preserved in my mortal mind.

That was the first birthday occasion for me when I cut a birthday cake. Now many would jeer and giggle at this revelation but yeah this is the truth. I had never cut a cake before; not birthday, not any other cake. Birthdays used to be different for me before. During school days, the day used to be more or less a normal occasion for me with just my parents and friends wishing me and making me feel special. However as I entered my intermediate studies, the custom widened a bit. Now I would be wished by parents and friends like before but then in the evening I would throw a small party at a restaurant inviting my group of close friends and we all would eat and make merry before the day signaled its end. But hardly any of us had cut a cake on our birthday. So blowing candles and cutting my cake the way I had seen in television and movies and moreover with a surprise element involved in it, had obviously made me feel elated on that birthday of 2007. We didn’t have cameras then and even good camera phones were either rare or costly. Still my friends managed to capture me in visible delight. Thanks buddies.

Now there was one more specialty about that birthday of mine. The day was seven/seven/seven J. Not all are lucky to have their birthdays falling on such unique dates. But I was lucky. Lucky to be born on such a day; lucky to have good friends who care for my happiness; lucky to have my friends plan a surprise for me on such a unique birthday and finally, lucky to experience the unique feeling of cake cutting on a unique birthday. Speaking more of the day I am eager to add two more things for you readers. One, this birthday was also my first birthday when I had someone I knew who shared her birthday with me. She was a friend of a friend. And so it was the first time in my life that I wished someone a ‘Happy Birthday’ and got to hear a ‘Same to you’ in return. And this feeling has always been a very special one for me. Two, Later that day our own Taj Mahal was also included in the list of New Seven Wonders of the World. So all in all, the day had really been a great one for me, both as an individual and as an Indian citizen as well.

And now I fast forward four years of my life. Four conspicuous and vital years. I am an engineer now. A computer engineer from a reputed university. The birthday I described above came at a time when I was not very sure about my education. But the birthday that came this year, i.e, 2011, is different in the sense that my education is over now and I am ready to embark upon my professional career. However, I still find some similarities between the two: -

1. Uncertainty; What to study in the first and when to leave in the second.
2. Two of the three friends could still make it happen for me. I missed you Alok.
3. The venue was the same – my room.
4. The surprise element prevailed.

And few dissimilarities as well: -

1. For the first time I had a friend with me who had come over to my place to be a part of my birthday bash. Someone who had been irreplaceable in my life in the four years that I skipped to reach here. I call him Vinay.
2. There were five friends this time.
3. I cut my cake in the last hour of my birthday.
4. I was horribly decorated and beaten.

Nevertheless I enjoyed a lot again this time. This birthday kicked off with a surprise carefully planned by my friend Vijayeta and finally ended with a surprise cake cutting along the lines of seven/seven/seven but in a more pleasant manner. Adding to all this, there was this huge multitude of phone calls, text messages and more than a hundred and fifty wishes over Facebook. These are records at present. J

This birthday marked the end of my student days. Hereafter, I don’t know the course of my life. But friends are meant for a lifetime. Thus, I dedicate this compilation to all my friends who have shown deep care, love and affection to me over the years. I convey a big thanks to all my buddies who have loved me and helped me come this far. I pray you to never desert me and keep playing the influential roles that you’ve been playing until this far.

Jaane nahin denge tujhe… jaane tujheee denge nahin. J