Of birthdays and growing up.

Celebrated my 29th birthday two days ago. Birthdays! My mother always said my birthday wasn't the best of time for celebration. There were times my family forgot all about my birthday and realized days later that my birthday had passed.
In my household, birthdays are solemn occasions. A chicken is usually killed for dinner or some meat will make an appearance somehow.  Morning tea with cake and prayers for the birthday girl/boy. That's the birthday ritual. When I was in School, mother used to buy a whole packet of sweets so I could distribute it to my classmates. This didn't happen too often for me. Being born in mid June meant my birthday always came around during the summer break and having lived in a time where there was no mobile phone/internet or telephones, there were very few friends to share my special day with. So it was just me and my family and few friends in my neighborhood and a few devoted friends who took the trouble to show up at home. (It is a long distance to walk to my home and an arduous uphill climb.)

One time my birthday fell on the last day of class before summer break and my mom got me a packet of eclairs (such a treasured treat then) to share with my friends. I was in 3rd or 4th standard then. In the first class, I stood up very self-consciously and approached the class teacher. The class hushed in anticipation. I whispered in her ears that it was my birthday and I wanted to distribute sweets. She smiled at me, and announced to the class that it was my birthday and that I had sweets to distribute. My classmates sang happy birthday for me and I doled out the sweets and it was back to business as usual.
I don't know if people still do that in school but it is something I will never forget. Me standing in front of the class, beaming and blushing but happy and my classmates, all 80 of them singing happy birthday just for me.