A Birthday Gift-A Small Story

Our world consists of happy and equally unhappy people.It is the duty of those well placed and in a happy position to extend their goodwill and cheer to those who are in a folorn situation.It does not require financial assistance at all.When we put in a good piece of happiness into the lives of those people or make an incident purposefully to give them happiness, certainly GOD will view it positively. This is a story ,a real incident which changed the day of an elderly woman, my sister from gloom to a very happy day.

A Birthday Gift

The musical alarm on my mobile phone woke me up from sleep. It was about to scream again when I shifted to silence it. The digital clock showed 6 AM. It was morning already. How swiftly the night had already passed? I longed to cuddle against my pillow again and drift into a slumber. Mentioning the pillow my thoughts raised inadvertently home to the warmth of my wife’s body. There was a wait of another week before I could go home.

As it was my habit i tore the previous date from the desk calendar. It showed 11^th February. It then dawned on me it was my sister Indira’s birthday. Indira Madhavan my elder sister was VVIP to me. Being elder to me by six years, she was like a mother, friend, advisor and my well-wisher and it was her sixty ninth birthday today, under the zodiac sign, Aquarius.

I picked up my mobile phone and called their home. The telephone rang several times and then the voice of my sister came through. “Happy birthday and many happy returns of the day”, I said cheerily. There was a pause at the other end as if my wishing had little effect. “Thanks”, she replied. At least you could remember. I noticed something amiss in her usual gay tone. “What’s the matter?” “Instead of a kind nice word especially on my birthday, my dear husband has just released a volley of abuses on me – that being his birthday gift for me in the morning!”

“What is the reason behind this”, I enquired. “When the hens were let out this morning, a rooster flew on to his table on the house veranda and pooped lavishly”. I smiled to myself. I could well surmise what had happened then after without her saying the rest. My brother-in-law, a retired head master had a touchy sense of humour. He gave great importance to cleanliness. The rooster pooping on the newspaper which he hadn’t even read was too much for him to bear. His retort had been scalding.

“Forget it love. Some days start with a bang and then turn out to be a very nice one. Maybe this day could spring some surprises since it is your birthday. The zodiac forecast claims so.” I reassured her and cut the connection.

My sister Indira is a person of different qualities. Since she was educated in a convent in Malaya, she has firm belief not in Hinduism but in Christianity. Armed with the rosary and a copy of the bible, she’s now almost a saint with no loss for kind words and deep affection for anyone.

She’s a born cook. Her magic in the kitchen has earned her great honours from all those who had the luck to sit at their dinner table. Chinese, Malayan, and Indian food she could conjure up within minutes.

She’s a passionate collector of flower plants and had nurtured a good garden in front of their house. From money plants to medicinal shrubs, you could see them arrayed in her garden. Her love for flower plants once landed her in the hospital. While visiting a hospital, she noticed a beautiful flower plants. In her words they had beckoned to her silently ‘take me home’. Without hesitation she had crossed over in haste to pull out (steal) the plants that had captivated her. In her hurry, she did not notice a tree branch lying across her way. Before the wink of an eye, she lay sprawled on the gravel, tripped by the branch. She had to walk with a sling on her arm on the account of a fractured arm.

With guilt she acknowledged, that she had violated the principle of the 10 commandments.

She is better than the radio station in our vicinity. Nobody knows how she collects news, but all the top 10 items of the latest news would be ready at hand.

She was also a curer. Her expertise in remedies ranged from Allopathy to Homeopathy and now to Ayurvedic. You just had to ask something for your malady and she would boldly prescribe you the cure. On my part whenever I came across a good recipe on cookery or medicinal procedure that appeared now and then in some publications, I immediately gathered the clipping which eventually I added my sister’s list of handy therapies

She was a poor gambler, last year without her husband’s knowledge she had invested some thousands in a money chain swindle, which had promised to make her a millionaire. Unfortunately thought and the money went drain.

Now her ship was stranded. I could never let her birthday be spoilt. Gathering my wits, I called Sou, my spouse and related everything from scratch. Together we hatched a plan to pull her ship to a buoyant level.

Before lunch time I called my sister again, “Hi! What is cooking?”. “Chicken-biriyani”, came the reply.  I knew our plan had worked successfully.

“Jesus Christ! You know it is amazing. As you said, the day has turned out to be a fine one. Our house phone has been ringing continuously one after the other. I received so many calls from far and near. Never in my whole life had so many persons remembered my silly old birthday. My hubby got so jealous because nobody remembers his birthday. Anyway thank you so much. Anyway it was your first call that lit up my day. Come over if you can for lunch. Chicken biryani it is! And I shall also make you a nice cake for tea”.

I could easily visualize her happy radiant face. Even though I had played a trick on her, I consoled myself that it was for a good cause. However what we did is still a secret only shared between me and Sau.

Bhaskar Das

Warden

Agasthya Bhavan
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
Ettimadai
Coimbatore-641112