My Autobiography: Birthday Celebration Woes

Anyone whose birthday falls during the vacation or on national holidays will invariably have a regret. They would never be able to celebrate their birthday along with their school friends because schools will be closed!! Since my birthday falls in May, I too was a member of that bad-luck-club.

In the schools I studied, students were allowed to come in their birthday dress on the day of their birthday (only). Just imagine standing out with vibrant colours among those whites, khakhis and greys. Besides, you are the star of the day – your name will be mentioned in the assembly or class, and you get to distribute chocolates to all your friends.

Everyone wishes you or at least smiles at you. If not for your birthday, at least for the chocolates you’d be carrying. Non completion of homework or poor performance in tests are excused. The  world suddenly becomes friendly and there is a festive atmosphere surrounding you, wherever you go. On that day.

Having seen countless friends happy and smiling throughout the day, having wished countless friends on their birthdays, having seen countless friends in colour dresses, I too wanted to celebrate my birthday in my school(s). At least once.

But I never got to. (Birthday) Cursed are the people born in May!

The closest I came to celebrating my birthday with a few of my school friends was during my 8th Std. holidays when I enrolled in swimming classes, part of our summer coaching program.

I adamantly took a box of chocolates, got into the swimming pool with that box, and distributed chocolates to all my friends (and others) in there. For once, I came out of that wretched swimming pool smiling.

How about you? Was your (birthday) luck any better?

Destination Infinity

20 thoughts on “My Autobiography: Birthday Celebration Woes

  1. Alok Singhal

    Those good old days….nobody cares much about birthdays now after growing up. Just wishes and a few gifts by some!

    Loved reading your story. May is indeed not a good one to be born in, as far as celebrations are concerned.

    Mine is in Dec…exam/pre-board month in most of India…so many were already scared ☺️

    1. Rajesh K

      Dec. is much better than May. I know some friends who wore birthday dress to school even on exam days *much to my agony* 😛

      Destination Infinity

      1. Alok Singhal

        That would be so terrible – birthday dress on exam day!

        1. Rajesh K

          Yea, I can’t even think of it. Sometimes, they celebrate on the last day before exams. But I didn’t like even that idea!

          Destination Infinity

  2. Saru Singhal

    I am also like you – not-so-lucky. My birthday is in December and we had house examination. Sitting arrangement was very complicated in my school.

    Good to know that you can swim. I am the only one in my family who can’t.

    1. Rajesh K

      I can sort of swim 😛

      Destination Infinity

  3. SG

    Birthday dress?

    1. Rajesh K

      No. At least, I got to distribute chocolates 🙂

      Destination Infinity

  4. Harini

    I am August born so I never had this problem. But my niece, who is also May born, always complains on her birthday.

    1. Rajesh K

      Yeah, only a may-born can understand the pain and agony of another 😉

      Destination Infinity

  5. Jeevan

    Falling on July 31st I got the benefit of celebrate my birthday with classmates, singing happy birthday to you… keep me all smiling and at least on that day I was noticed for not being different. I think for some having birthday on vacations can have the privilege of celebrating it with family and cousins and if they are on holidays, the birthday would be really special. One of my cousins birthday falls on May 28, and during one of his B’day we were on a family holiday to Kodaikanal and we got to celebrate it there, which perhaps not possible if he was at home and having all together.

    1. Rajesh K

      I forgot to mention the birthday song that was sung for birthday kids – once in the assembly and once in the class!!

      Destination Infinity

  6. Sandhya Kumar

    Good, at least you could celebrate once! Birthdays were not that important in our days! Amma made paayasam, that is all! We go to temples. No chocolates to school etc. My sons celebrated with school friends!

    1. Rajesh K

      I feel that’s the best way to celebrate birthday now – simple and peaceful. But when I was young, I had other ideas 🙂

      Destination Infinity

  7. Avada Kedavra

    Tell me about it.. my birthday is also in May so it sounds like I wrote this post 😛 When I was in primary school, I would distribute chocolates on the last day of school itself, just because I wanted to even though it was not my birthday. That’s the closest I came to celebrating my birthday.

    1. Rajesh K

      This option – of distributing sweets on the last day of the year or first day of next year – was available in one of the schools I studied. But somehow it didn’t appeal to me! 🙂

      Destination Infinity

  8. Deepa

    I was in a similar situation, as my birthday fell in April, but in our school all the kids who had birthdays in the vacation got to pick a day and distribute chocolates on that day.

    I still had a tiny hope/wish that i could get a day for myself. 🙂

    1. Rajesh K

      I too was put off by the concept of celebrating my birthday on some other day. It felt as if I was desperate to celebrate. I was, but… 😛

      Destination Infinity

  9. Shilpa Garg

    I was lucky that way, but my son being April born has spent quite a few birthdays without celebrating it in school because of holidays. He did it when the school reopened, but I know, it’s not the same feeling!

    1. Rajesh K

      Yes it is not. But something may be better than nothing!

      Destination Infinity

Leave a Reply to Deepa Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *