4th October 1979
- I was born in the morning hours in Mumbai when people rush to the office in the local trains. My mum traveled by train every day to the office, and she claims that my arrival at that particular time coincided with the local train she always took to work.
- I grew up amongst my grandmother and grandfather. I had no siblings. They doted on me like anything. I was their world, and their lives revolved around me. My grandfather was a great disciplinarian, and I inherited respect for the time of others and the thirst for knowledge from him. My grandmother was a homemaker, and her world was her kitchen. She made the choicest of dishes and was always eager to feed me my favorite things every single time I demanded.
- My parents were a working couple, and they taught me the importance of being independent, to be confident, to be self-sufficient. They also taught me the value of money and the value of people. Money and value can't really replace each other, I learned from them.
4th October 2019
- In a German town called Karlsruhe, right in the middle of the Black Forest, a full-time housewife and mother. A cleaner, a cook, a caretaker, who manages the house with great pride.
- Being a milestone in my life, I wanted to do something special. With my parents and my family, I wanted to celebrate this special day. But God had something else in his mind. My parents couldn't travel at the last moment due to my dad's health, and my husband was away on a business trip to the US. T was at home as he had a holiday. He made me a greeting card on my insistence with some maths sums and formulas! I have no idea what it was about. But important is that he made an attempt this year. Till last year, he didn't even know when my birthday was.
- I went for lunch with my friend, Yasha. She gave me a treat at a vegetarian restaurant. We chatted, talked, and had a lovely meal. It was so nice of her to have arranged this in the absence of my family.
- My best friends, Sonali, Madhuri, Snehal, Aabha, called to wish me. My parents, in-laws, my husband, and many friends sent their wishes too. As I am on Facebook now for promoting my blog, a few friends sent their love and wishes on my Facebook wall.
- I decided to invite my German friends from the Buddhist Chanting group instead of celebrating it alone with T. I decided to also invite them for dinner. Cooking Indian food for 10 people was not easy as I didn't have any utensils to cook food or serve. My friend, Ms. Monika Deshpande, took the responsibility of providing me with dinner. She has a catering business, and she often takes orders for different events. The menu I decided was Veg. Manchurian as a starter, Kofta curry as a main dish along with rice and gulab jamun as dessert. The girls came at 7 pm sharp. We chanted for half an hour, and then I served them dinner. They sang the "Happy Birthday" song in Portuguese, French, German, Finnish. They asked me if there was any song like this in Hindi or Marathi. I couldn't remember any. They all enjoyed the food. They loved every item and took 2-3 helpings later. We talked a lot till about 10:30 at night. T was also there talking to them and impressing them with his Maths knowledge.
- I also got gifts! A pair of hand-made soap, organic juice bottle, a chocolate biscuit pack, chocolates of different flavors, and a big fat book of Nichiren Daishonin and his teachings. My German neighbor gifted me with a beautiful book of an artist who makes portraits of birds in a very different manner. She always makes an attempt to uplift my spirit. My husband sent me flowers and chocolates via post. No matter how old you grow, gifts are something that always brings a smile to your face. The gifts are a token of love, and no matter how big or small they are, they do make you feel loved on your special day.
Basking in all the love and attention for the whole day yesterday, it dawned upon me that with the growing age comes maturity, a calmness to handle things, and people in a very sophisticated manner. The insecurity and the uncertainty of the future fail to ruffle you. You gain confidence as you grow old. You gather the courage to face any situation, good or bad, with the same demeanor. You realize your self-worth, and it really doesn't depend on what you earn or what you do and what others consider you. It's entirely your passion to live life and do things the way you can do them the best that defines you as a person. Live life to the fullest and let the number of years not bog you down.
- I was born in the morning hours in Mumbai when people rush to the office in the local trains. My mum traveled by train every day to the office, and she claims that my arrival at that particular time coincided with the local train she always took to work.
- I grew up amongst my grandmother and grandfather. I had no siblings. They doted on me like anything. I was their world, and their lives revolved around me. My grandfather was a great disciplinarian, and I inherited respect for the time of others and the thirst for knowledge from him. My grandmother was a homemaker, and her world was her kitchen. She made the choicest of dishes and was always eager to feed me my favorite things every single time I demanded.
- My parents were a working couple, and they taught me the importance of being independent, to be confident, to be self-sufficient. They also taught me the value of money and the value of people. Money and value can't really replace each other, I learned from them.
4th October 2019
- In a German town called Karlsruhe, right in the middle of the Black Forest, a full-time housewife and mother. A cleaner, a cook, a caretaker, who manages the house with great pride.
- Being a milestone in my life, I wanted to do something special. With my parents and my family, I wanted to celebrate this special day. But God had something else in his mind. My parents couldn't travel at the last moment due to my dad's health, and my husband was away on a business trip to the US. T was at home as he had a holiday. He made me a greeting card on my insistence with some maths sums and formulas! I have no idea what it was about. But important is that he made an attempt this year. Till last year, he didn't even know when my birthday was.
- I went for lunch with my friend, Yasha. She gave me a treat at a vegetarian restaurant. We chatted, talked, and had a lovely meal. It was so nice of her to have arranged this in the absence of my family.
- My best friends, Sonali, Madhuri, Snehal, Aabha, called to wish me. My parents, in-laws, my husband, and many friends sent their wishes too. As I am on Facebook now for promoting my blog, a few friends sent their love and wishes on my Facebook wall.
- I decided to invite my German friends from the Buddhist Chanting group instead of celebrating it alone with T. I decided to also invite them for dinner. Cooking Indian food for 10 people was not easy as I didn't have any utensils to cook food or serve. My friend, Ms. Monika Deshpande, took the responsibility of providing me with dinner. She has a catering business, and she often takes orders for different events. The menu I decided was Veg. Manchurian as a starter, Kofta curry as a main dish along with rice and gulab jamun as dessert. The girls came at 7 pm sharp. We chanted for half an hour, and then I served them dinner. They sang the "Happy Birthday" song in Portuguese, French, German, Finnish. They asked me if there was any song like this in Hindi or Marathi. I couldn't remember any. They all enjoyed the food. They loved every item and took 2-3 helpings later. We talked a lot till about 10:30 at night. T was also there talking to them and impressing them with his Maths knowledge.
- I also got gifts! A pair of hand-made soap, organic juice bottle, a chocolate biscuit pack, chocolates of different flavors, and a big fat book of Nichiren Daishonin and his teachings. My German neighbor gifted me with a beautiful book of an artist who makes portraits of birds in a very different manner. She always makes an attempt to uplift my spirit. My husband sent me flowers and chocolates via post. No matter how old you grow, gifts are something that always brings a smile to your face. The gifts are a token of love, and no matter how big or small they are, they do make you feel loved on your special day.
Basking in all the love and attention for the whole day yesterday, it dawned upon me that with the growing age comes maturity, a calmness to handle things, and people in a very sophisticated manner. The insecurity and the uncertainty of the future fail to ruffle you. You gain confidence as you grow old. You gather the courage to face any situation, good or bad, with the same demeanor. You realize your self-worth, and it really doesn't depend on what you earn or what you do and what others consider you. It's entirely your passion to live life and do things the way you can do them the best that defines you as a person. Live life to the fullest and let the number of years not bog you down.
Awesome. Happy you celebrated with your friends.😍😘
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