Everyone tends to look forward to the day called “Birthday”, whatever might be his/her age. Although the day brings you closer to the so-called ‘Budhapa’, still you cherish the significance of being born on this day and associate it with general euphoria. And when you are in the midst of friends and that too a group as hell-bent on making it memorable as it can be, you can’t get more euphoric…

So, here I was in my room at 11:56 PM on 15th March when in came the dear group of friends ready to take me out for a little celebration. Only, it wasn’t in any sense a li’’l one. I was taken by surprise when they didn’t ask me to move to the smoking area to cut the cake but made me sit on the stairs and did a march-past shouting commands like ‘Birthday ki salaami de’ and ‘Birthday song gana shuru kar’.

The fact that I had not seen the invite sent by the organizers, about whom I am going to talk about, made it all the more interesting. Here was a group of friends I had known for only over 3 months, who had already made my day special by probably celebrating my birthday in the most spectacular fashion possible. I was floored. The very fact that it took me 2 days to complete this blog is some proof of the overwhelming feeling 😉

The cake cutting ceremony was as usual filled with all kinds of antics by people to make sure that no part of my face was spared the chocolate, cream and strawberries. Probably 3 times more cake was on my face than in my stomach after the conclusion. But I was as happy as I could possibly ever be. This is perhaps what friendship is all about…

So the people behind this all – Deepak, Areez, Kushagra, Ajay, Swamy, Harish, Tanya, Archana, Prarthana, Kapil, Soham Dada and Avneesh (no typical order, just random). They planned it so well that I didn’t even got a whiff even though I am with either one of them practically all through out the day here. And then the gift, thoughtful again, had me in a total daze. I hadn’t expected such a grand and heart-warming celebration. But this very fact makes it all the more endearing, as well as memorable. Here’s to our friendship, which I am sure would grow stronger in the days and years to come…

The story however, does not end here. I got a beautiful surprise from the one and only… A cake and flowers that not only made me nostalgic but also poignant. A gift that was again meticulously planned and never ever hinted upon. My love to such a thoughtful partner. May we continue to scale new heights in our relationship…

So, a year older and perhaps wiser, looking forward to the wonderful year ahead which promises challenges and changes that might alter the course of my life; here I am ready to take on the world…

Life at GMBA in SPJCM, Singapore truly is a busy affair. There are things to do and then there are things to do. Some days are good and some are bad. On the good ones, you feel actually elated and relaxed. On the bad ones, you swear about the lack of time and work as hard as possible. But most importantly, you hope for the next day to be better.

People here try to be as optimistic as one can be. So on a day when marks brought little to cheer about for most of us, and people were discontented with the outcome, there was hope with a poem doing the rounds mentioning how you should stick out through the hard times… And then there were plans to take the college to the next level (more on this in some other post).

So today is a bad day as it has turned out. But never to worry. Tomorrow shall be better. And oh! not to forget – the festival of RANG – HOLI which is now upon us. Buddies kept mouthing the famous dialog in anticipation – “Holi kab hai. Kab hai holi” from the past many days. And although we have an end term exam tomorrow, I m sure people would find time to play with colors and make the whole atmosphere colorful with the festival finally here.

For us Indians, Holi always has a special place in the festival calendar. A festival where you can let yourself out in your own way, without having to worry about class, level, age, hierarchy and what not. There are other festivals of social gathering but Holi by its sheer nature of casualness, lends an altogether different dimension. So, looking forward to Holi celebrations with friends and taking those memories with me through my life… HAPPY HOLI.