Last tuesday was Agni's brithday like
for everyone among Kats's friends he was made to cut cake at the
stoke of midnight.(I learnt to use 'at the stroke of midnight' from
Cinderella's story you see.) Every brithday is celebrated ina
different way. The cake is made differently for different people,
like Agni likes watermelon, so for him a cake in the shape of
watermelon, with a red top made from jam with chocolate droplets as
seeds was made. For Shanti and Kats the first time they celebrated
their birthday it was a litchi cake, with Happy Brithday future
chemists written on it.(They were born on the same day, just a year
apart and many many miles apart.)
Celebrating birthdays togehter by
invitng the whole class started with Agni's brithday a year back.
Agni and Kats were not good friends back then you see. But Kats
decided to attend his birthday-I was pushing her too, I wanted to see
what could happen-cause she believed that if by being there it might
make him happy she'd do it. I remember her helping her friends and
giving crazy ideas for his 'fake' gift. Some which are my favourites
are stuffing empty cookie packets with paper and sticking them with
cellotape so that it looked like it had cookies in it, wrapping
chilli flakes packet in layers of newspapers and putting it inside
another cover for a chocolate, a stuffed surgical glove that poped
out the moment you opened the box and guess what, the glove also has
a mystery gift,more chilly flakes packets. :p After Agni was let to
open this 'mystery box' he was later chased with eggs. Yes it was
holi, but in March at mid night with yellow greasy eggs. Poor Agni he
was soaked in smelly yellow egg. I guess by the times all the eggs
were over he might have been stuck to one place, or rather frozen
like a statue.
His hair I remember was stuck in one
place like the hair of the clay dolls that you get in the mela. And
he smelled real bad. He must have been upset, becuase he was never
given his actual gifts then at the time he was made to cut the cake.
It was hidden under the huge mess in his room and he was made to find
it. Becuase girls and boys live in different hostels we are not
allowed to go there. They were supposed to use skype to show us how
he searched for them. But they couldn't connect and we were angry.
Becuase after all the egg holi Agni was too tried to even thank his
friends and class mates who had come. Kats was very angry, I was
angry too; but Kats was very angry. The next day he did give a
chocolate to make up for his not saying thank you and it worked for
me, but didn't work completely for Kats.
This year Agni's brithday was differnt.
Himadrija and Indigo's room was like a far off uncle's house on a
cousin's wedding. Fullf of activity, full of people laughing,
talking. Like in all the weddings and functions where the whole
family the far off and the direct ones meet, Agni's brithday this
time was like the entire family of friends meeting after a
year.(Their hostels had been split in July last year you see.)
Everyone had a new story to share, a new song to sing and still it
didn't seem like there was a year between that day when they had all,
together, last met and that day. Every one was doing something for
Agni, Vidya and Himadrija were working on the wrapping and decoration
of Agni's gift, Kats and Indigo on the brithday card.. when it was
11:30 pm all ran down stairs togther.
I don't know wether Kats and her
friends are lucky or wether Agni's lucky, but it is on his brithday
both last year and this year everyone came togehter. Happy Birthday
Agni! Grow older and never forget to give the chocolate you gave the
last year again for your next birthday. Yes, you read it right, he
didn't give a chocolate for this year's birthday.
