Our ideas of what a birthday ought to be like sure takes a beating as we grow older. When I was around 8 or 9 or maybe 10 my entire social life revolved around being invited to a birthday party - and always, always my birthday party just had to be the best. My mum and dad really did go over the top those days, my dad was (and is) the creative guy - he'd really do up the whole house with balloons, and ribbons and all glitzy thingummajiggs that were popular in the 80s and my mom - she would cook up delicious party treats (those kinds that would go on being discussed for weeks after).
Mum like all mums could be a terror with her creative cooking at times - now at sixty - she's not so experimental. But there was a time, and what times those were! I have a particularly frightening story of her creativity, it happened when I was turning 9 or 10 (as you can see my early memory begins at 9 or 10) mum was figuring out what's the best birthday cake to bake for her girl. Usually at our place there would be one bakery bought all dressed up 'birthday cake' and two other simple home baked vanilla cakes. This time mum decided nothing store bought would do and thereafter started tossing out each and every cake idea presented by us. When suddenly her eyes lit up (and in retrospect I think she must have thought she was on a cool idea) and she said she had an idea that could make me a talk of the town - a giant idli cake. Imagine that!
At first I thought mum was kidding but I saw she was really warming up to the idea, as she was explaining it to me. I managed to scrape my 10 year old dignity off the floor and said if there was going to be an idli cake then I'd pack my bags and leave home. And because there was a previous history of that event, thankfully there was no giant idli cake. It was bad enough being a madrasi, I suspect a giant idli with chutney icing might not have improved my chances with the happening crowd!
Anyways its my turn now and thankfully my girl isn't grown up enough to leave home on her own, she can barely make it out of the potty by herself. But here I am already close to passing out at the thought of the 2nd birthday party. They do grow up real fast eh?!
... and here she is not yet One!
11 comments:
LOL! you should narrate your childhood eloping story too :))
Advance B'day wishes to the cute lil girl :)
She looks soooooooo cute!! Come on, cuddle her up real hard for me:) U know what? I too hated the 'madrasi' tag that followed me everywhere in the North KVs - that and "yeh 'undoo gundoo' kya bol rahe ho?."
I made mini idlis and chutney till last year because that is one thing all kids really love, and wafers of course:)
PS: Good to have you back, and am so glad we talked! I really felt I knew you for ages esp. the defence backgrounds:)
Advanced bday wishes to her and she is so chweet... Bday are definitely the day every kid would dream about all the decorations and guests and pamperings wow thats simply the best...
she is so cute! and just yesterday i was wondering what happened to you and that i should drop u an email asking that :)
Happy birthday to the little one:)
Nice to see you back here.:)
Your little one looks so pretty, she reminds of mine. Oh yes! They grow really fast, it seems like only yesterday that she started school.:)
Hope she has a lovely birthday. I think I was a bit crazy (somewhat like your mum) and we invited a whole lot of friends for her first b'day. I actually cooked everything because I didn't want store bought stuff! Now I wonder how on earth I did it!!
Mishmash - thank you! actually i never left home for a man - i just thought my class 2 classteacher mrs ghosh was a better parent and guess what i wanted to take with me? the rose cookie maker!
Sunshinemom - thank you! the birthday was great and will be posting about it soon.
Ramya - yes and thansk to the pampering she's seriously spoilt!
Nags - i am back stillsporadic though.
roma - thanks for the welcome!
I was so tickled at the Giant Idli cake with chutney icing idea :-)
Kitchen Flavours - it tastes good too.
Aparna - thanks, i cooked and cooked and cooked!
Good to see you back to blogging Rajani:). Your little darling is a cutie pie..you must be planning a big birthday bash.
lol...the idea of giant idli with chutney icing for a birthday cake...
My best wishes for you li'l one:)
How very sweet to read about your exp!...and your lil one is sooooo adorable!...kids grow up so fast right....
I was thinking that you have been away for too long..good to see you back!..you missed my rice mela!...:(..
no issues..enjoy with your darling!
It was nice reading your narration Rajani. Even I'm from Madras and I don't remember having a birthday party. We didn't invite people and stuff but my mother would get me a cake from Adyar bakery or McRennet. My favorite was the chocolate cake and the plain vanilla cake with chopped pistachios on top.
thanks yasmeen, sri, madhuram - madhuram, i am not really from madras, but you know like in the south the generic term for all north indians is punjabi - its madrasi in the north - for all south indians!!
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