Blow Out The Candles

December 2017

Blow Out The Candles

November; in it lies many occasions; be it International Tounge Twister day to Kannada Rajyotsava (a celebration in Karnataka, India). In these list of occasions also lies a personal event, my birthday.

Birthdays, they’re just a different meaning to every individual. It’s absolutely intriguing how one can perceive one event in so many different ways.

Starting with me, I have had splendid parties in my initial years. But how I looked at myself on that particular day differed immensely. During the first few years, my birthday was a topic of immense excitement. My parents hosted parties for the fellow Indians in our neighbourhood (I lived in America at that time) and there was always a lot for my mother to do. She made more food than we could imagine and dressed me up in the best way possible. I was then proud that I was a year older and was excited to receive gifts.

Years passed and I was eight when I stopped celebrating as much. I had visited the Kanya Gurukulam that year. Slowly, the way I liked birthdays changed. I looked at myself writing the first page of a new year. I feel pride in who I am and what I have achieved. I feel blessed to be the protagonist of such a stellar story.

Well, I also look forward to the piles of scrumptious food on which I can salivate and the one magnificent gift I receive. My, the gifts I get from my parents are just remarkable (not to sound rodomontade).

This year, I got a large comfy recliner that sits beside my bed. My mother’s cousin, who shares his birthday with me, celebrated along with me with a few other family members. I saw myself as a budding author, blogger, and poet who could improve on various aspects.

Moving onto adults, they generally don’t look forward to it. They just find it like any other day, only that their age has an added number to it. Though they do celebrate it, there isn’t much pomp in it.

Moving onto one of the main aspects of a birthday, gifts are too, different like birthdays. The poor try to do as much as they can to give their child their dream, a cake and some candles,  while the rich are given fully fledged planes for their birthday. One’s gifts are usually treasured by the receiver for they hold a great place in his or her heart.

We celebrate birthdays, but it is unknown to most why. The idea of a birthday initially rose in Pagan traditions. They believed that evil spirits lurked on major days, like the day you turn a year older. The candles are credited to the Germans. They symbolise light against dark and were considered a response to evil spirits.

Comment your birthday experience!