Gift Of Family ... The Best Birthday Gift!

by Chand P
(Mangalore, Karnataka, India)

I have lived in South India all my life so far in a little city called Mangalore, in the state of Karnataka. Being Catholic people, my grandmother always insisted that we begin the day with Holy Mass, after which the whole family goes out for breakfast.

If it's a working day, everyone goes to work, school or college and in the evening the family meets at my grandmothers place. We start a little bonfire, sing and dance round it with drinks and tasty home food served.

Nana always baked a cake for us and it was the most special cake ever because it always had fruits, nuts and fresh cream on it. Nana's cakes were so famous and loved by all that occasionally she even baked them for our close family friends and neighbors.

If it was any of our uncles, aunts, parents or grandparents birthday, usually the kids of the family put up a little show, either sang a song or recited poems. My grandmother always taught us that the most important thing in life is family, and that there was no better gift to give someone than the gift of a supportive, happy and united family.

Due to the busy work schedules, it was not easy for everyone to come together and meet up and so special days like birthdays, anniversaries and festivals were always with the family. We do not buy gifts for each other, but instead we make beautiful cards, compose songs or poems, make a huge bouquet of flowers and ferns plucked from our own garden, or a collage of all the great and memorable times we spent together throughout the year.

This always gives a personal touch to the birthday wish, thus making the family a close-knit one.