This guest post is by Nisha Misha:

Birthday!!! The very word makes me smile irrespective of whose it is, though the smile does widen when it’s mine. In my family that day signifies “its your day” and have gone through extreme lengths to fulfil that view to make us feel special on that day. My mother taught us to take it to the next level, by counting down to the D-Day one month in advance. As they say, it’s the process that counts.

I recall with fond memories my 13^th, 16^th 21^st and 25^th birthday. Anyone who has interacted with me knows that I’m an ardent Formula 1-Michael Schumacher and Tour De France fan and thus most of these milestones were in relation to these two sports. While I know the theme is the one special birthday, I’ve been lucky to have more than one till date. It all started a week prior my 13^th birthday when I saw a Ferrari car model (Michael Schumacher) at Landmark. I was ready to forgo my party just so that I could have that and my father hesitatingly relented to my pleas. Any sports fan will understand the unexplainable joy you experience on owning your first ever merchandise. My family and friends increased the bar for my 16^th birthday by periodically gifting me things again related to F1 from the previous night till a day after my birthday. For my 21^st birthday since we were abroad vacationing I was given the opportunity to attend my first ever Grand Prix though I did not follow it through since we were there only for a day in the city. A week long celebration occurred for my 25^th with me meeting all my friends before I left the city to pursue my higher education.

While it does seem that its’ only materialistic things that brings me joy, I completely disagree. It’s the thought that a loved one puts in and how well they actually know you which leaves an impact. Their presence or a phone call irrespective how busy they are indicates you are on their mind. The excitement definitely builds also for the individual gifting you. Case in point, the gleeful look my father had on making a note out flowers on the dining table or my mother placing post-its around the house.

A few of my friends have stated that on reaching 21 or even 18 years the celebrations die down and “its’ just like any other day”. Due to how I have been brought up and believe in -to each their own-, I can’t help but feel a bit sorry for them. Having at least 1 day out of 365 solely for us to feel extra special is something I have taken for granted. In my family, till this day irrespective of age birthdays are celebrated and we are there for each other. This is the philosophy I choose to live by not just for loved ones but for anyone, from a birthday wish to a chocolate that I may have on me

Food for thought- when was the last time you experienced that sheer joy and excitement you had during your childhood?  

One day in a year to feel extra special in my view is not being too greedy.

-

Nisha is a psychologist by profession. She and I have been friends for more than a decade, and live to tell the tale ;) She is a tiny person who packs quite a punch! 

                       

Birthday Series: 3 to go: What is the big deal about birthdays?

This is a guest post by Sindhu :)

In our family, we have this practice of celebrating the first birthday by inviting close friends and relatives. Of course I don’t remember my first birthday but we do have a few photos taken during the occasion. Me in a pattu pavadai with almost nil hair on my head J

One of the birthday parties I remember which happened during my childhood days is my cousin’s. The cake was Mickey Mouse shaped. We filled a balloon with glitters and tied it on the fan. Once the cake was cut, my other cousin burst the balloon and the entire area was filled with glitters. Later I went to buy potato chips for the veg briyani served for the dinner. The shopkeeper gave a weird look seeing me drenched in glitters. The same cousin turned 21 a few days back and all she wanted was a big sized GOT t-shirt.

I lost interest in celebrating my birthday a few years before. It just happened without any particular reason. I turned off the FB birthday notification. Sometimes I laugh by seeing posts on social media such as ‘can’t keep calm it is my birthday month/day’. But who am I to judge them? It is their birthday and their wish to celebrate it the way they want.

Once I used to invite all my friends and neighbours for my birthday party. I used to send gifts for my close friends’ birthdays. Later the practise of gifting someone has stopped completely. In my engineering college, there was a gift shop which had very good collection was greeting cards. I sent a greeting card to my dad from that shop and when my mom called that day, she was almost in tears as the card had beautiful wordings. I was thinking about all this and wondering why I stopped the nice gesture of sending gifts. A gift could be a materialistic thing but it shows how important that particular person is to me.

A birthday may not be a big deal to me but it could be a big deal for some of my close ones and a kind gesture can make their day even more beautiful. So from this year, I have decided to send gifts to some special ones in my life on their birthday. And you know what, even if I don’t consider my birthday a big deal, I am blessed with a few dear ones who make it a big deal J

So what is the big deal about birthdays? 

I for one, am sure glad that she kind of found out :)

Sindhu is a dedicated marketer who always has a smile on her face. She can make anyone feel welcome in minutes, and make a daunting crowd feel like a bunch of old friends. Obviously that means that she has a lot of friends! :) 

Birthday Series: 7 to go : As I turned 40

This guest post is by Forever Young Mr. G :)

One thing that Jenny and I share is the star sign. Both are Taureans. Other than that we both have very distinct personalities and belief systems. That makes me wonder if the entire star sign story is true. Does Linda Goodman books just feel good or a solution to explore who we are? Did we start imitating what was wrote or Linda actually wrote scientifically researched piece. Despite this doubt, I am very attached to my star sign. Never miss an opportunity to read the predictions. 

As Dan Ariely would say I am an irrational man.

But this post is not to raise my cudgels against Linda and the star sign story. This is about my own birthday this year.

On April 23, 2017, I reached 40. Just in case you didn’t know, I share my birthday with the Bard of Avon – Shakespeare.

Coming back to my turning 40. Like Jenny, I also get very excited a fortnight before my birthday. I start thinking who will wish me and what gifts I might get. Till about two years back, I made my birth date known on Facebook. As a result, there would be wishes pouring in from friends, family, and acquaintances. It certainly felt good.

Then I stopped sharing my birth date. And I would urge, if you are keen, to do the same. This will give you an understanding of who is closer to you. If someone can wish you without the need of a social media reminder, then you can be certain that that person has thought of you. Of course they may have some other mode of remembering but somehow Facebook or any other reminder seems very impersonal. Expect the number of wishes to come down, but the wishes you get will be more valuable.

Of course it can cause heartburn. Blame it on the dependence on technology and social media which have made the need to remember things unnecessary. There is a possibility that you might expect some people to remember your birthday but they may not. In this case either the person forgot to wish you or only you imagine that you are close to that person.

But then upon reaching 40, my thoughts were not much about who will wish me. As I lay lazily on the bed, I thought I have probably already lived three-fourths of my life span. Assuming I would live till 65 or 70, what I have left ahead is the period where the body will slowly but surely grow weaker. The body may not remain strong enough to hold the soul.

While is still not the dusk, it is certainly the twilight. I am not sure if I was scared and sad. I think it was just a solemn thought. Though I have had more positive birthdays in the past.

As Eckhart Tolle urges in his book, I think I will try to stay in the Now.

And an advanced happy birthday to Jenny. Make the best of what you have, today. 

-

SriGanesh is a marketer by profession and philosopher at heart. He was my first boss, and since then he's been a good friend, a mentor and a sounding board. He's one of the few genuine, honest, non judgmental people who have survived in this social era. 

You can follow him on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/sriganeshr ) and read more of his writing at http://mystupidities.blogspot.in/ 

Birthday Series: 8 to go: Why I don’t celebrate my birthdays?

I haven't undergone a brain transplant. 

This is obviously a guest post ;) A different perspective from a fellow Taurean who happens to (not) celebrate his birthday today - Over to Rajesh! 

I don’t remember celebrating/wanting to celebrate my birthday after 10^th Std. I may have cut a few cakes and all that, but birthdays were never special to me. My birthday is just another day.

We generally celebrate only achievements – don’t we? I am sure you’ll agree that mere survival of three-and-a-half decades is no big feat. Millions of people have done that before and millions will do it later too. So, I don’t see what’s so special about that!

I would gladly celebrate my birthday if I become,

·         As skilful as Sachin

·         As rich as Ambani

·         As popular as Rajnikanth

·         As talented as A R Rehman

·         As powerful as Modi

·         As compassionate as Mother Theresa

In short, the day I become as famous as one of the above personalities, I would gladly celebrate my achievements on my birthday. Anything lesser than that would be like celebrating inconsequential existence, which according to me, is another inconsequential happening on an inconsequential day.

I know what you’re all thinking – he’s never going to celebrate his birthday in this life. The chances of celebrating one in the next few lives are also very miniscule. I can even hear some of you laughing in your minds - yenakku unga mind-voice kekkudhu. But what to do – you have taken the decision of reading through this article and you’ll have to go through the consequences of your decision. No escape 😊

People say that when you aim for the sun, you’ll at least get to the moon. But in my case, even if I aim for the moon, I’ll get to the stars. That too in a distant galaxy. Yes, I am generally that humble.

If you are still reading this article, you might as well have a look at my latest venture – https://www.animatedphotos.org. Or, if you just want to read more rants like the above, you can follow my personal blog – http://www.destinationinfinity.org

Thanks Jenny, for inviting me to write a guest post. I’ll carefully watch this space to see if the host of this blog will drop the idea of allowing guest posts in the future 😊

Haha, that's definitely a different perspective! Rajesh and his wife are a fun duo who are always trying out new things! He has reduced my workload by adding the links himself :)  However, I must mention the commendable work he puts into his blog. He faithfully updates his blog with details of events happening in City. Though he focusses on weekend, he does highlight a few events during the week as well.

His new venture - Animated Photos sounds super fun. I have checked it out, and it looks great! I wish him all the best. 

More importantly, A very very happy birthday Rajesh!

Birthday Series: 9 to go : Lighting the lamp, blowing the candle!

Today's guest post is a poem by the eclectic Varsha Dharan. 

Lighting the lamp, blowing the candle!

What would birthdays be without cakes, candles, cards, confetti and celebration? 

What would birthdays be without family, friends, fun and frolic?

What would it be? What would it be?

Is it celebrating life?  Blowing a candle to strike one off the board? 

Taking a step closer to a probable next birth?

What would it be?

Racing numbers to racing thoughts, racing all the way to the stop?

The timer ticks, the battery drains, the phoenix burns to rise up again!

What would it be?

Being the princess, finding my horse, defending the land I love a lot?

The youngest I will be, the oldest I’ve been, swimming the oceans I am intended to cross!

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust! Finding a purpose to this life I must!

-

Varsha Dharan is one of those few people who managed to grow up continuing to be the bundle of bouncing energy and joy that we've all been as kids. A HR specialist by profession - but far from defining who she is. A social worker, professional dancer, traveller, photographer and of course a poet as well.

She's famous for her double hashtag couplets. 

Her writing induces one to read twice, think thrice and ponder quite a bit. 

Birthday Series: 11 Days to Go: My 28th Birthday

This is a guest post by Bragadeesh Prasanna.
I was having so much fun doing this series, that I wanted to share the fun, and get more people to join the party! :)

I have never written a guest post before. Ever. I feel privileged to be asked to write in another person’s website. And it is on a topic I adore. Birthdays. Well who doesn’t love Birthdays? Over the years, I have tried to make myself aloof on my birthday, to just go somewhere alone and reflect. This reflecting thing never worked for me. I found myself in the company of my friends every single birthday.

My birthday falls on the14th of April, which also happens to be Tamil New Year. So every year my birthday is a government holiday and a reason for everybody in Tamil Nadu to celebrate it as well. But on 2014, my 28^th birthday, it was a little more special. Anybody who follows cricket would know about IPL (Indian Premier League) and if they know about IPL, they should know about Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the club cricket team of my state and city. I am a diehard fan of CSK. Given the reputation of Captain Dhoni, CSK’s matches are mostly be scheduled on holidays to ensure maximum turn out at the stadium. Whenever there was a match on April 14^th , I cancelled all the plans with my friends and I cut the cake at home with one eye on the cake and the other fixed on the television to see the magic unfold as CSK played.

My friends let out a collective sigh of relief when the 2014 IPL calendar came out. CSK vs RCB game was scheduled on 13^th April. I was also happy that I could spend my birthday with my friends. It was a Sunday evening; as usual we had brought in bottles of Cola and Chips and settled before the television set. The match was between the so called arch rivals. Royal Challengers Bangalore had some great batsmen in their line up. Though Chris Morris removed the dangerous man Gayle early in the innings, Kohli and AB Devillers notched up enviable half centuries to take RCB to a decent total of 165 runs.

At 9:30 pm CSK started batting. We lost both our openers within four overs. It hurt particularly to see Mike Hussey back in the den as he was always at his best when it comes to Bangalore. CSK as a team always peaked at the end of the tournament. Though we were ready for a loss, it bothered me that the 12 O clock celebration was not going to be the same that year. Soon our local guy Badrinath joined Raina forming a pretty decent partnership. At the end of tenth over, CSK were 64 for two, almost needing 10 runs per over for the remaining 10 overs. When Raina got out to a short ball in the next over, in walked Dhoni. Jadeja shortly joined him.

By 11:30 pm, my mobile started ringing, because a lot of people wanted to wish me first and most of them were ready to stay on the line for half an hour to do so. The match had just gathered full momentum and I was not able to give my attention to both. One friend was hell bent on being on line and the match had reached its penultimate over. Dhoni decided to go big and got out. I was disappointed. He was the only hope we had and I couldn’t keep it out of my voice. My friend said “I will leave you alone for a while Brags. Call me when you are free.” That was the time the whole world was making fun of Jadeja, calling him Sir Jadeja and what not. The last over needed 16 runs for the win. With a six and four in consecutive deliveries, Jadeja brought down the equation to a gettable 6 from four balls. However, some decent bowling restricted him and the last ball needed two runs to win.

Jadeja had different ideas. He tried to cut an uppish ball, straight to the fielder in third man. The moment the bat hit the ball, Jadeja was off like a flash and but completed only one run. We, the audience slumped in confused. The RCB camp was celebrating and that’s when everybody noticed the umpire who had his hand stretched horizontally, meaning it was NO Ball, adding another run to CSK! CSK had won the match! It was one of the most ultimately thrilling finishes by CSK and the celebrations started exactly at midnight. I called my friend with such excitement only to get an earful about how CSK was important than her call. But, what a way to start a birthday!

You can watch the highlights HERE.

The whole of Chennai celebrated my birthday with pomp and celebration in 2014. Much like the match, my 28^th year was a roller coaster ride, from losing a job to finding a job again and going on to lead a BPO on my own.

Well how did you celebrate your 28^th?

I never knew this! Always nice to be a part of someone’s life a little bit by reading about it.

Thank you Brags for sharing such a fun memory!

Bragadeesh Prasanna lives a young adult’s dream. He’s an author/ entrepreneur. A social media marketer by profession,  Added to which, he is a voracious reader, and is a part of various clubs and groups. He is an active member of the community, and still makes time for all his friends.

His book “300 Days” published about a year ago is a hauntingly beautiful novel. [Available HERE]

You can follow him through: Blog (http://bragadeeshprasanna.com/)  / Instagram (mrniceguy467 )