My Memorable Indian Birthday Party

by Nupur
(India)

Birthday for me has always been special. A most coveted day, I would mark it in the calendar and wait eagerly for the Sun to rise. When I was a child, birthday meant lots of sweets, treats, fragrant flowers, gifts and blessings.

It has been a tradition in Indian families that you visit the place of your worship, bow before the almighty, and get their blessings. Mom would accompany me to the temple, I would get a tray of flowers which I showered on the deity.

I still remember vividly the fragrance of those flowers - there would be rose petals, jasmine, marigolds, and lot more! I have forgotten their names.

My parents would ask me to touch the feet of my elders: uncles, aunts and grand parents, and get their blessings. In Indian culture, this is a tradition on special days and on festivals. You touch the feet of your elders and get their blessings. It is a mark of respect toward the elders in the family.

Mom would organize a small birthday party for me, and I would look forward to the evening with joy. Since I loved flowers, she would decorate the room with vases of fragrant and colorful roses, gladiolus, chrysanthemums, freesias and lots more!

In the evening, Mom always served an egg-less cake, as egg was a restricted item in our home. She always cooked lots of dishes, made some of my favorites, and fed me well before the guests arrived and the party started.

One game which I loved the most was "collecting the flowers." Others usually played this game with plastic straws, but since I loved flowers, Mom would use marigold flowers for this game. Some of the elders would throw the flowers all around the room, and all my friends would scramble to collect them. Whoever collected the highest number of flowers won this game and got a special gift.

We also played musical chairs, and sometimes my parents would hold a puppet show or magic show to entertain us.