Happy birthday

Idea of fun is strange. It can mean very different things to two different people. Though it is often generalized and stereotyped into a popular activity which is considered cool thing to do in the present culture. This popular culture dictates you how you are supposed to live your life. One of the examples of it is our birthdays. If you look closely, birthday celebrations are nothing but a celebration of the fact that you didn't die in the last year since you last celebrated it. It is the only feat that you have achieved that people are congratulating you for on that day. The feat of being alive. But in the kind of world we live in, it is not completely ridiculous. Apparently, the danger of dying too soon is pretty real. Especially with the kind of lifestyles we have. We have been collecting too much tar in our lungs and toilet cleaners in our livers. But not to digress, birthdays are supposed to be a celebration and it is way beyond debate at this point of time. But the idea of that celebration is also pre-defined. People will see your birthday notification on Facebook, call you up at 12 midnight (because apparently everyone was born at exactly start of the day) and wish you a happy birthday followed by instructions of partying hard that day.

One of my college friends celebrated his birthday a few days back. 4 people out of our group have ended up in Mumbai so we were discussing how to celebrate the birthday. One friend suggested that only option in front of us is to party hard in one of the pubs. A good traditional option I would say. Considering that we were in Mumbai, a city immensely popular for its night life. That too after 2 years in Calcutta where night life mostly meant arguing with the taxi guy to not overcharge you when plying you back to campus after a late night movie. So he suggested Blue Frog. The birthday guy was not too thrilled about it because neither is he a fan of drinking nor of the digits featuring on the right hand side of the Blue Frog’s menu. Sensing his apprehensions and knowing his love for hogging on good food, I suggested the good old Barbeque Nation. He was pretty thrilled about it which is actually the idea of having a good birthday. But my other friend was not going to give up so easily. He tried to convince us that since it was his 25th birthday, there is no way we could be thinking of anything less than a posh club. Suggestions of us having turned too old were made which we graciously accepted. Thankfully the birthday guy got to spend it the way he wanted.

So obviously there is a fixed notion of how the birthdays have to be celebrated and that involves partying hard. But what if I don’t want to party hard on my birthday? What if I party hard every other day and I just want to sit back at home and reflect upon the year that went by. Make it as a personal year-end review of myself. What if I don’t want to go out? What if I don’t want to pay exorbitant prices for my drinks in poorly lighted ad crowded place that day? What if I don’t want to yell in order to talk to my friends sitting right across the table because the music is so obnoxiously loud? So next time when you wish someone a Happy Birthday, don’t plan their itinerary of the day by asking to party hard. Just let them do what they want.