Birthday Man

April 9th, 2009

Time of the year again, when Mister Birthday Man comes knocking. I can already see him from a distance- he looks fatter than the last time. Somehow, I always get the jitters before his arrival..wonder how I'd deal with the Wedding Man(when he arrives)...they all belong to the same clan, right!

Birthdays have never been an occasion o fun for me..ever since I was old enough to really know that they were supposed to be occasions of fun. I have (year on year) had plans being chalked out by my parents, grand-parents, relatives..all trying to make it special..and if only they had bothered to ask me how I wanted it, it'd saved them a good 2 hours of brain-storming. I have always prefered a quieter affair..with maybe a few friends, and just chilling out.

I will turn 22 in 3 days. How does it feel, some ask me; some don't. But I do ask myself that...how does it feel? 22, sounds older for sure..as the more I look around I find that newer batches of teens have been dispatched..lots of "kids" running around, playing, mkaing noise...looking at them, I only realise that I belong to a different bracket now. The one where I can earn for myself, cook for myself, take care of my folks, make my own decisions and basically manage my own life...it is a gentle realization. It isn't harsh.

I can, when I am on my evening walks, feel the potentiality of these times- when my legs move faster, covering more distance without failing me. I feel enthusiastic and powerful and ambitious...such bright is the youth!

It's indeed, strange to see years adding up this way to a mass of your 'life'...certainly makes you feel a lot more familiar to the surroundings, to the planet, its inhabitants. Otherwise these years are nothing, just numbers, just dates, just excuses for a whole lot of things. Real life can begin anytime and anywhere...or so I believe!