Birthday bash

18th February, 2008, my birthday, turned out to be a memorable day, not only for me but for all my friends too. It was the day when some things went wrong and some were just perfect. That is precisely what made it exciting and memorable.

At 0.00 hours, I was watching Ash and Hrithik’s interview on T.V. when Amma and Appa got up from their half sleep and presented me with a HUGE Fruit&Nut bar. T.V., chocolate, calls from close friends – quite a good combo!!!! (Er, I began the year eating chocolate, so does that mean I’ll see no dearth of chocolate the whole year? 😀 )

In the morning, I had just finished calling office that I wouldn’t be coming in when Manmeet and Pinky dropped in home as a surprise with a bouquet and gift. The initial conversation went something like this:

M&P: Happy birthday, Priya.

Me: Thanks.

M: Here’s your bouquet. Where are the others?

Me: **Blink blink** How am I supposed to know?

It so happened that Manmeet, Pinky, Ganesh, Sonia and Shilpi had planned to meet outside my house at 8.00 hours sharp. Well, plans badly misfired and what resulted was chaos. Certain facts had not been taken into consideration – like Ganesh having gotten a new cell phone, their forgetting to exchange numbers, the possibility that Shilpi’s vehicle might go phut on the way, the possibility that there might be a delay in the preparation of the bouquet, as well as complete unawareness of the fact that a 48-hour auto strike had started in Ahmedabad at 0.00 hours on the same day. (I had nothing to do with it, ok?)

The result – A very confused me! Ganesh waiting for an hour outside my place, not able to contact anyone, thinking there might have been a change in plans and going back. Sonia waiting at a certain place for Shilpi to meet her and take her to my place. Shilpi being stranded on the way and not able to find an auto. Pinky and Manmeet getting delayed due to the bouquet and arriving at my house later than planned, not finding anyone there except me. 🙂 The chaos was sorted out in some time and everyone reached where they were supposed to be.

In the late evening, we met at a restaurant, as I was told by Shilpi over the phone, only to be told by her that there was a problem. They were waiting for me so that we could go somewhere else. I came to know that a surprise cake cutting had been planned, but the restaurant would not allow it. So we headed off to another restaurant nearby.

Half an hour later, we were finally settled at one place. We borrowed a knife from the restaurant, which happened to be something extremely long and thin. I cut the cake Jodhaa-style and there was the customary candle blowing, wish-making, cake-thadavifying-on-the-moonji and photography sessions. 🙂 We asked the waiter to pack the rest of the cake and placed our order.

We were done and ready to leave in some time. I paid the bill and asked for the cake parcel.

The waiter: Madam, I threw it in the trash.

A collective gasp from all of us. It turned out that the waiter had heard us wrong and he had thought it was to be thrown away. If looks could kill, that guy would have died on the spot. How could someone even think of throwing away sinfully tasty chocolate cake in the trash? Chocolate cake, for God’s sake! 😦 It’s criminal!

Our very own Jhansi ki Rani Manmeet demanded compensation. Finally, a fair-enough compensation was worked out. Soft drinks for all of us – on the restaurant. 🙂

We headed home, refreshed after a slurpalicious meal and some hearty laughs.

My day ended with some phone calls and messages with warm wishes. Some unexpected wishes, the wishes I had expected, going to the temple and giving ladoos to poor people, the chaos, the dreamy evening, me catching up on some reading and music, me gifting myself Paulo Coelho’s ‘The Pilgrimage’ and Helen Fielding’s ‘Bridget Jones’ diary’, as well as the lovely surprise gifts I received – all this made my day for sure!!! All in all, a wonderful day. With lots of moments worth remembering! 🙂

Song on my mind: “Ae kaash ke ab hosh mein hum aane na paayein”

Pinky, Manmeet, Ganesh, Sonia and Shilpi – Guys, I thought I was a one-of-a-kind specimen that God once made and then stopped making any more. I met you people and realised that I was wrong. There are even bigger sample pieces than me! We rock together!!! 🙂 A special thanks to all of you guys for making the day so lovely. 🙂

Thanks as well to all those from family, other friends and blog buddies who took the time out to send cards and wishes. It meant a lot to me. 🙂