Growing up in a large joint family, in a conservative rural set up, birthdays weren’t really a thing in Amma’s household. A new dress probably. A trip to the temple. But with so many children, birthdays weren’t really celebrated. Shouldn’t a birthday make somebody feel really really special? For both my brother and I - Ma pulled out all the stops. For each of my brother’s birthdays, which falls in January, she built a tradition of making cabbage vadas and gajar ka halwa. She kept up with that tradition till her last year and Anandam my Manni (Bhabhi) picked up the baton this year. Mine , she pampered me even more. She ensured I had a birthday party till I was 25! She taught me to love birthdays and indulged my desire to celebrate it, well past the age most people do. I left home at age 21, but irrespective of which city I was in - Delhi once, Mumbai another couple of times - she ensured my birthday got celebrated - with my father or even my brother - taking my friends out for atleast a dinner. I got married before my 26th birthday, and my husband has carried that tradition forward for me. A birthday party is something I relish still - and I pull out all the stops for Trayi each year, and I celebrate my own with much enthusiasm.
After she got married, Appa ensured Amma’s birthday was special too. She always celebrated it. Wearing a new saree and going out for a special birthday meal with close friends or family. Maybe watch a movie..Last year, luckily, we all were with her on her birthday. She took the whole family out to one of her favorite restaurants in Koramangala -Grameen. Today, on her 72nd birthday, had she been around, she would have wanted us all to go to Ramana’s maybe - another of her handful of favourites. She didn’t quite relish Chinese or Mexican food. Italian, she grew to like, but a true celebration for her had to be with North Indian food or South Indian food she didn’t make at home..She loved a good celebration, my Amma. And celebrate it we will - with some of her favourites. Happy Birthday Ma! With Venkataraman Mani Ravi Mani
After she got married, Appa ensured Amma’s birthday was special too. She always celebrated it. Wearing a new saree and going out for a special birthday meal with close friends or family. Maybe watch a movie..Last year, luckily, we all were with her on her birthday. She took the whole family out to one of her favorite restaurants in Koramangala -Grameen. Today, on her 72nd birthday, had she been around, she would have wanted us all to go to Ramana’s maybe - another of her handful of favourites. She didn’t quite relish Chinese or Mexican food. Italian, she grew to like, but a true celebration for her had to be with North Indian food or South Indian food she didn’t make at home..She loved a good celebration, my Amma. And celebrate it we will - with some of her favourites. Happy Birthday Ma! With Venkataraman Mani Ravi Mani
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