Birthdays Then and Now

Every person treasures their birthday. The only day when everyone pays attention on you makes you feel very special. The way of celebration varies from person to person, and with time, people's perspectives on birthdays have changed. Like everyone else, I used to wait entire year for that particular day when I was a child and assumed I would get the same treatment as all of my friends. I had the same desires as everyone else: a cake, presents, a new outfit, and attention. Then, when the day finally arrived, I was always disappointed as I hardly ever received what I had wished for. The concept of affordability hit me hard later when I start growing up. 

I hardly remember cutting a cake throughout my childhood. I never distributed chocolates to my friends, and all the other teachers roaming all the school taking help of my friend. Lucky me, never have to do anything like that as I was born in April and the month belongs to summer holidays. I never got any presents or gifts on my birthday in my childhood. Though I was upset for my lack of attention as a child, I now feel dumb for being sad for nothing. Now, I believe birthdays are just like every other day, and all the celebrations and attention mean nothing to me, and I don't feel anything special about them.

I may not have received as much attention on my birthdays as everyone else, but at least I got a new outfit every year, mum used to cook pulav, which she occasionally cooked back then, and cousins used to reach out to me from other cities and wish me well. I used to treasure these moments since they were very rare back then. As I grew older, pulav became less of an occasional dish as we used to get it every now and then. I no longer get enthusiastic about new clothing. Cousins who used to call me on my birthday but now live in different countries began wishing me via WhatsApp. Every special thing I used to have lost its enticement as I grew older, and I can't think of any new reasons to be cheerful about a birthday.

Cutting a cake in front of a group of friends was weird. People used to eat the cake when I was a kid, but now they use it as face wash. I don't understand the point of cake cutting anymore. I still don't understand the concept of birthday bumps, kicking and beating a birthday boy on his special day; I don't find it meaningful at all; perhaps because I am detached with this generation's thought process and their concept of celebrations, I don't see the true reason of celebrating it.

The tradition of throwing a party became a status symbol on birthdays but the purpose is to spend quality time with loved once. As the years passed, I began to suspect that everything around birthdays was a ruse. I started wishing people merely for the sake of wishing them, and I don't truly mean it. I don't feel awful when people don't wish me a happy birthday; instead, I'm relieved that we avoided an awkward conversation.

There is nothing to worry about as long as I have people who really wish my growth and goodness, as long as I have people with good intents around me every day is a birthday and all of the attention and drama means nothing to me. I'm no longer interested in fake wishes and fake grins. All I need around me are people with good intentions, whose presence always brings peace and happiness. Living peacefully with such people will be the best present I can ever receive.