I remember an uncle on every birthday of mine. His was Mr.George. For the several years that we were staying in the Railway Quarters in North Chennai, he was our neighbour. He was my mathematics Guru, the shoulder I would always lean onto when I had all those crazy doubts to be cleared. Birthdays were not celebrated at our home as we would see it as any other normal day, but uncle would come home with a cake for me and that's how I got to experience cake cutting. Of course, but for the cake, Appa would get me something for the birthday.
Once I got married, my wife brought it birthday celebrations as a standard practice. So we had this happening in our home especially because my daughter was around and it was a feeling of joy with every celebration that we could come up with.
All through these sessions I had not mastered the art of cutting the cake and facing the people around who were singing for me, because all I had around me was my family and an additional person in Uncle George for the first few years while I was at school.
Last year too on my birthday, like as in any other year, I had wanted to make it a very private affair. There was an important music session that had been planned by my music band leader on the same evening and I could not avoid it.
The eminent Christian music composer had flown down to Chennai for an exclusive session with our band Dhwani. So I went there. But to my surprise, my band mates had spotted my birthday date and had planned out everything for my birthday celebration.
I think I fumbled in many things on that day, but since it was so natural it became part of the many reasons for laughter that evening. I started cutting the cake before blowing out the candles and I really did not know what to do with the first piece that I had cut and taken out :)
But what I relish when I look back is the blessing to have had an eminent music composer singing the birthday song for me.
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