For a lovely day, for a wonderful birth-day.
The children surprised me with a lovely card that was a gift in itself. K had got me presents from the markets. Handcrafted cast iron bird feeder/ birdbath, hanging in a copper chain. The second thing was a unique tree ornament that could be dug into the tree, and the effect would be a kookaburra sitting on a branch. Of course, I’d never stab a tree, so kookaburra will have to sit on the wall, next to the Perspex painting of a baby robin that Kanchan gave me for my birthday three years ago. She had seen it displayed at an art exhibition and the Dutch artist couldn’t ‘sell’ it till the exhibition was over. So K paid for it, and the artist came home to drop it off and signed the paperwork for it to me, as I was spending my birthday in Amsterdam that year.
Had a truly special birthday. Spoke with friends from long ago, had the sweetest messages and haven’t yet read them all. The most magical was to speak with Armaity, after almost being friends for about 40 years, when Mummy was in Bombay. Palli made the day special for me. She brought me a beautiful Saree, and made me wear it! If it hadn’t been pink and navy, I may have protested more. Pink being my favorite color, it was easy to comply. I feel I look like a man in a Saree, not having worn it for so long.
It was great connecting with childhood- childhood friends, from Babar Road and Pandara Road, like Neeru who I’ve been friends with since we were almost infants. And a couple of others who were special then, and remain so now.
Whoever suggested I blog, did me a huge favor. When I read some old posts, the memories come alive as if the moments were being relived. Despite my best intentions to write everyday, and with no dearth of inspiration, the hours slip away.
It had rained all day and when it stopped we went for a walk after dinner. A pointed out the shy to me, where the clouds had parted a little and the sun was peeking out from behind them, as it headed home for the night. This came my birthday to a close.
In 10 minutes the clock so to speak, or more like the iPad will tell me it’s midnight, and it’s officially the start of my next year of life. Though I started my 73rd year when the watches clocked 3:30 pm New Delhi time. I was reminiscing how times have changed, and so many examples came to mind.
Sleep has been inviting me to journey to dreamland, and I’ve resisted. Just wanted to be sure I wrote this and it will remind me or cheer me up when I look back on this day. Said goodbye to the Sun till tomorrow. Welcome new moon. I’ll see you shortly in my dreams.
Veenu Banga
May 27th, 2025
11:55 pm
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