HAPPY B'DAY DEAR... LOADS OF LOVE AND WISHES









You and I cannot remember birthdays of everyone around us. We remember our own and of some significant people in our lives. For me, it is my immediate family – my wife, son, parents, brothers some of their family members and some close friends.  I am not talking about birthdays of Jesus or Mary, Shiva or Krishna, Gandhi, Nehru or Dr. Radhakrishnan… I am certainly not talking about remembering birthdays of Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar or Lata Mangeshkar…

I am talking about remembering people around me… those I see, meet, talk, work with almost every day… even my neighbors and students… I am talking about them… Yes, I am saying that I am unable to remember all b’days… And, mercifully, I am not expected to!

Right?

Right.

Thanks to this Facebook, every morning, I am reminded to wish at least half a dozen of my FB friends… These days, FB reminds me of the upcoming birthdays, too… so that when the birthdays actually arrive, I will not forget to wish… and, the nice thing is: even if I forget, the FB reminds me of the birthday just went by… So, I can always send the belated birthday wishes, you see!

Earlier, I would religiously send b’day wishes to half a dozen or even two dozen FB friends, every day … “Happy b’day Ashok… Loads of love and wishes”. I would not simply type, “Happy b’day”…. That would be too impersonal, I would think. And, wishing someone with just “HBD”…. No, never. That would be too discourteous and insensitive, I would believe. So, it had to be, “Hi Sheela, a very happy b’day to you. Have a great year ahead” or, “Have a great day” or, “Have a great time”… or, if it is an elderly person, “Wishing you good health, love and peace.”

Wishing someone “Happy b’day” and ‘feeling’ it for that person are two different things. Most of the wishes I sent everyday to my FB friends… very honestly, I sent them mechanically… without feeling for that person – sorry, friend. I just mechanically typed, and the b’day boy or the b’day girl would respond immediately or later, individually or in bulk - ‘Thank you for your wishes… Felt blessed!”

Later, having realized how mechanical this wishing business had become, I stopped sending b’day wishes to all in the daily list… I only sent to those who I ‘felt’ for!

Simarn is a very dear student of mine who attends my classes daily. She is good in studies, she is very affectionate and respectful and it is a pleasure teaching her. Yes, that means, I ‘feel’ for Simran. Yesterday was her 20th b’day. The moment I saw her name in FB’s daily b’day list, I quickly sent her my wishes… “Happy b’day dear Simran,” I wrote, “Loads of love and wishes.”

That was around 9 in the morning. At 3 in the afternoon, Simran came for her class. And, as usual, we went about our class… When the class was over, her friend, Deepali, my another student, arrived. “Haaaai Simran…. Happy b’day”. By now, Simran was inside Deepali’s tight hug!


“Oh No, not again!” I screamed. “Come here darling… Look, how funny (read, mechanical or hypocritical!) it can be!” I said truly feeling for Simran, now… “I had sent her the b’day wishes at 9 this morning on Facebook,” I explained to students around me, “When she was here before me, for one full hour – face to face - I just forgot that it was her 20th b’day today!”

“Sorry dear,” I gently hugged Simran, “happy b’day to you… Loads and loads of love!”


GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: Mavourneen Peters


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi...
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How ...
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or pain...
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...