Golden Birthday, Golden Memories.

Today is my golden birthday, well if you don't know, don't google it because I have, it is basically that birthday when your birth date and age coincides. So on this 22nd February I turn 22 and it's my golden birthday 🎉!

With the golden birthday what I recall are the golden memories of my birthdays so far. As a kid there were always butterflies in my stomach before and on birthdays. It felt like the most important day in the year, but over the years it is just like any other day. But now there are so many memories to recall on birthdays that the feeling of any other day goes into the background and the good old days take the front seat!

In the early 2000's the birthday parties had a different charm altogether. The house was full with kids ranging from 2 year old's to 20 year old's. Back then we did not know about the generation gap or boomers/ millennial's / Gen Zs. So everybody gathered for everyone' s birthday 🥳 . This reminds me of all my birthdays in the government colony where there were house full birthday parties. The cake was bigger than me most of the time. 

The drawing room was decorated by our parents and their friends. Colour coordination was no big deal. There was no such thing as a theme, everything had a different theme and it somehow blended well.

Photos were clicked on the the Kodak camera 📷 and couldn't be seen immediately, now we can't imagine waiting to see a picture clicked plus we are never satisfied with the first click back then there were only few clicks and no choices and still we love our old pictures over the new ones. I think the magic is in the fact that there was no second chance to re-click so we used to put our best foot forward (or best broken tooth forward 😂). 

Guessing the gift game was my favourite and I still play it, but now I play alone after the party. Earlier we used to play it at parties, where we tried to guess the gift from its size, shape, and sometimes by shaking it. There was no prize for it, but it was still exciting. 

Well the cake cutting was the highlight as it was done once everybody gathered, and if not then invitees were called and asked to come so that they don't miss it. Well there used be some little brats who poked into the cake before cutting, and it felt very bad but now sometimes I poke my own cake to taste the cream #guiltypleasure

Also how can I miss candles, the varieties of different candles, but the one that I remember vividly is the lotus shaped one. It was equally exciting and irritating. So initially the way it opened like a flower bloomed was exciting but then the happy Birthday tune felt good for about an hour or so post that it was irritating.

The birthday menus were fixed which included either pav bhaji, hakka Noodles, samosa, vada pav along with potato chips, gulab jamun, cold drink and cake. Chocolates were an integral part of birthdays in school and at home parties both, I don't know how distributing chocolate has just stopped as we grow old, I don't remember the last time I bought chocolate in bulk . Well the leftover chocolates were a treat!

Return gift was a thing. Now this is discontinued. But the little key chains, notepads, water bottles, hair bands, brooches, pens served like a memory of that day for everyone. Even today when I come across some old key chain it reminds me of my birthday and all the fun that happened on that day. It serves as a token of remembrance.

The good old days were great, the new birthdays are cool in their own way. All that matters is seeing everyone happy around and that is something which is the same in both. As long as everyone is happy the backdrop, year, cake, theme can keep changing , happiness should remain a constant attendee!

Happy Reading,

- Siddhi Bhosale.