Tanay's birthday

This year 7th April was a Monday. Last year, being a Sunday on that day, we had invited many friends in Germany to celebrate Tanay’s first birthday. We had booked a time slot in a Chinese restaurant and the people had enjoyed the buffet and drinks. Tanay wasn’t sure of what was going on, but this year, it was a little different. He was older by a year and he also had friends with whom he could celebrate this big day.

‘Wir wollen etwas Indisches’; the caretakers said. That means they wanted something Indian on his birthday for lunch. It is a ritual here in Germany that the parents of the birthday boy/girl bake a cake for the group and the caretakers. The caretakers told me that they are bored of eating muffins and cakes and so they want to taste something Indian. Indian food has always been the world’s favorite owing to the rice aroma, spices and taste. So, I brainstormed with my friends and moms and zeroed upon Aloo paratha (Indian bread filled with potato) and gulab jamun (sweet balls fried in oil and dipped in sugar syrup). 

Atul wasn’t going to be around for 4 days as he was on a business trip. So, I had to manage everything, alone. But my good friend Mrunal came to my help. She told me not to worry and that she will take care of everything. She shares a very special bond with Tanay and Tanay completely is in love with her. She took charge of the kitchen and with another friend, Amita’s help; we made the gulab jamuns on Sunday morning. Next, Mrunal baked a lovely cheese cake within no time. I am really amazed to see her enthusiasm in the kitchen. She is a foodie and loves to cook too, which is a lovely combination, I would say. I am a foodie too, but I would be the last person to be in the kitchen, jokes apart, but I have recently taken to cooking different dishes with great enthusiasm. We both decided to make the Aloo paratha in the evening so that they remain soft and fresh. We finally finished making them by late night and we were dead tired. We called it a day and slept off.

Next day, I was very excited. I put up a nice message for Tanay on Facebook and many friends and relatives wished him a very happy birthday seeing that message. My close friends messaged me on whtsapp messenger too. That has become more popular than the Facebook, I think. I dropped Tanay to the crèche in an Indian attire, which his ‘pu – jeeya’ (grandmother who stays in Pune) had gifted him. He was looking very cute and he spared no chance in posing for photos, when Mrunal clicked him. I came back and put the stuff in different boxes so that I could carry them to the crèche for lunch. I reached there at 11 am and told the caretaker what all I have prepared and how to serve it. For their benefit, I described the food in German, so that they know what they are eating. They were very excited to know that we had actually prepared it at home and with our own hands!! I was equally excited to know their reaction on our Indian food.

I came back at 4:30 pm to pick him up from the creche and many caretakers around told me that they tasted the food and they simply loved it. The dessert was little sweet for them, but they still liked it. Tanay was gifted a crown made of paper with 2 written on it and 2 car pictures pasted on it. He was also given a small clay box as a present. He seemed very happy and I was happy to see him smiling and beaming. We came home and a unique idea struck me. Why not do a cake cutting ceremony in front of his grandparents who were missing him very much on this day. I asked my parents to be ready at 7 pm CET and they were very eager to see Tanay on his birthday. We cut the cheese cake together and Mrunal was present to click the snaps. His grandparents, great grandmother, Shreya ma (my kid sister) and her mother were also present to grace the occasion. We all sang song, they clapped for him, cheered him and he was very happy. The cheese cake was extremely delicious, kudos to Mrunal for taking so much effort for Tanay’s birthday. It tasted exactly like the ones I usually have in traditional German bakeries. I wish I could give some cake to my parents through Skype too! Haha. That is wishful thinking!

Thus, Tanay’s 2^nd birthday was celebrated with his friends in the crèche in a live manner and with his grandparents in a virtual manner. Nevertheless, he gathered lot of good wishes, love and blessings and I am sure he will go a long way with all our love and blessings.

Happy Birthday Sonny!