My Birthday Party

Thursday, 14th Sept. '06

Hey! It’s here at last! My 24th birthday!!! Had a great, great day, with a very strange turmoil thrown into the plot… wanna tell you everything… umm, where do I start?

Let’s see… the first wish! Yeah, that’d be a nice place to start!

As usual, it was Prithvi’s! You know what he did? He called up sometime around 11-55 pm, and kept talking as if he didn’t remember a thing – and at 12-00 am, when I was getting really impatient with him, he surprised me by singing out in a loud voice: “Happy Birthday to You!” That was so, so cute of him!! Actually, he was only talking to me so that he’d be the first one to wish me! So, well, he once again outsmarted Dad and Mom… Heaven knows where he gets these new ideas every year to make sure that his wishes stand out!

Remember what he did last year?? Since he could not get through to me at night, he did not wish me all day, and wished me at 12-00 am on 15th, so that he’d be the last one to do so! He’s such a cute friend!!

Well, the second wish was that of Dad and Mom, of course! They gifted me a very, very cute gold and diamond pendant – they really know my choice!!

After that, the usual! There was a spate of calls – Anu, Mallika, Ritika, Shubhra, Pranati… and quite a few others… no surprise calls this year! Got a lot of birthday wishes through SMS too, but no surprises there as well!

Thereafter, things got a bit drab – of course, can’t exactly expect a birthday party at office, can I? Anyway, some of my colleagues and office staff did remember my special day, and made me cut a cake in the lunch-time! That was sweet…

In the evening, of course, was the much awaited dinner party! We went to my favourite place – Prateeksha! God, the poolside is so amazingly romantic! I love the ambiance… all my friends, surprisingly enough, turned up, including Sameer! He’s the busy bee of the lot, as you know, but today he’d also kept himself free! And for a change, he brought his girlfriend Pari along too! Good for him that he’s stopped denying his affair at last!

The cake was simply yummy, and so was the dinner – as usual! Got quite a few sweet and thoughtful gifts too, from my extremely impish but cute friends! Can you believe it, Anu actually gifted me a heart-shaped pendant, with place to put two pics in it – according to her, one of the pics will be of my “hubby” and the other of me! Anyway, we really enjoyed a lot!

But hey… now comes the real, juicy part! On the way back, the talk turned to how well all of us have established ourselves in our respective fields, touch-wood. Sameer and Pari in the legal profession; Anu in Interior Designing; Prithvi, Pranati and Ritika in engineering; Shubhra on her way to become an English professor very soon; Mallika in medicine… and well, I was established too, in my own field! But it was when we finally got home that Mom n Dad dropped the bombshell… they told me something that took me completely by surprise! Mom started the topic, by mentioning, yet again, how much she likes Prithvi! And then, out of the blue, she asked me, “beta, have you thought of a future with him?”

I was completely flabbergasted! Prithvi, my childhood friend? As a life-partner? I mean, yes, he’s a very good choice – he has everything I can ask for. He’s well-settled, has a great job, is cute and quite handsome, and makes sure that he takes good care of me… apart from the fact that he’s academically excellent, has a great voice, is an even better writer, can easily become the life and soul of any party… well, sorry, my Mom can go on and on and on with the list, but I have to admit that she’s right!

But all the same, Prithvi, my life-partner??? I really can’t imagine a married life with him… Mom n Dad told me to relax, because of course, Prithvi and I both had no plans to get married any time soon… so they told me to take my time and give a good thought to it, because he’s a good choice… I just could not think of giving them any answer…

I came to my room in a turmoil… Prithvi? If you ask me, I have no excuse to give for rejecting him – seeing as I’m still single, and so is he… in fact, come to think of it, why not? He’s the ideal husband, and we are great friends… Dad always says that the secret to a successful marriage lies in the compatibility quotient of the partners, and Prithvi and I gel very well…

On the other hand, I don’t, and indeed have never, thought of Prithvi in this way. I don’t ‘love’ him, and I’m pretty sure that he’s got no such feelings for me as well. Wouldn’t it be stupid to get married to a guy whom I know very well, but I don’t love?

But then, that’s what arranged marriages are all about – and they do succeed, don’t they? There are couples who get married as complete strangers, but fall in love after marriage… maybe even our relationship can work like that…

I don’t know… I’m confused, scared, anxious, and at the same time, thrilled! I’ve never experienced such an array of mixed emotions…!

At this moment, an amazing movie plot is invading my mind – Dil Chahta Hai! Remember the two diametrically opposite stories in that movie? That of Shalini’s, who did not get married to her childhood friend Rohit, because she fell in love with someone else, Akash… and that of Pooja’s, who, inspite of having a boyfriend, fell in love with Sameer, the guy whom her parents chose for her! I wonder which story will my life take after?!

Well, there’s nothing much to do except to wait and see… Will keep you posted!