Birthday parties

While ordering enchiladas, 

lasagna, burgers, margarita

pizzas and Oreo shakes

in a high-end party place

considered cool enough

by the generation alpha,

all dressed in the trendiest 

Clothes, which were more often 

than not the branded

jerseys of the most famous 

Football clubs.

While they roasted each other, 

trying to outsmart all

in the battle of words, 

I couldn’t help remembering

a Halloween birthday

minus all the spookiness 

when the haze of Diwali

was still scintillatingly golden

And not smog grey. 

It was a time when

the birthday gatherings

unfolded within the warmth

of familiar walls of affable

and cozy homes. 

It was a time when

Coloured crêpe paper 

ribbons were twisted along the walls 

and balloons dangled from the 

ceilings in a casual dance. 

It was a time when

kids wore glittering Merlin-like 

caps but displayed none of that 

legendary wisdom and were happy 

to revel in unsophisticated innocence.

It was a time when 

Food was not  a gourmet grandeur but 

a comforting aroma of the

home-made bhatura served 

with spicy Pindi Chhole. 

While the sweet orbs of 

gulab jamun made guests 

simply ecstatic.  

It was a time when

‘Musical chairs’ and ‘passing the parcel’ 

were played with 

the steely determination of Arjuna

aiming for the bird eye 

to win an inexpensive 

pencil box or ceramic mug

as the game prize. 

It was a time when 

friends, cousins, neighbours

and  grandparents gathered

making life a tapestry 

of simple pleasures 

which was woven 

with the strong yarn 

of unadulterated affection.