P- Pomp and Show

It was after 15 years of their marriage when they were blessed with a baby! Their happiness knew no bounds. Everyone in the family was beyond happy. Parents decided well in advance to not create hype about anything related to the child. The family had waited for quite a long time for this day and now they didn’t want to fall prey to evil eyes.

They had decided well in advance that they would do things for the child once he starts understanding things around him. So that he can remember and be a part of such occasions. That’s the reason why they didn’t celebrate his first birthday.

When the boy turned 5 that was the time when the family thought of making it a huge event! One, because their boy was big enough to invite his friends and enjoy his day, two, it had been a long time there had been an event in the family.

Birthday parties, these days have become quite a trend. A huge birthday cake, a few game stalls, a clown, a comedian, a magician are a few things to mention.

But this birthday party was different. It was celebrated with full pomp and show. Almost, everyone in town was invited. And by everyone, I mean everyone they know. From their mailman to their friends, from the grocery shop owner to their colleagues, from their laundry man to all the distant relatives.

The birthday invitation card too looked like a wedding card. It was a party for round about 800 guests... a number most people abstain from for weddings as well.

It was a 2-day affair. One day for the guests to assemble, relax and then attend the Mehendi program in the evening. The following morning had a pooja scheduled, followed by lunch, then high tea and then finally the Big Party!

And at the party, the snacks, main course, and desserts were in a variety no one could ever imagine. You name it and it was there! Italian, Chinese, Indian, Thai... something as basic as Maggi was also available. The party had a dance floor for the adults to show their moves!

Source

Most of the guests who came for the party didn’t even know/recognized the birthday boy, let alone wish him for his day. They all came because the parents had invited them so generously.

But this is not why I am writing this post. The peculiar thing about the party was, all the guests who came in were only talking about how unnecessary it was to do such a huge program, that it was pointless to throw such a grand party just for a birthday, that it looked more like a wedding affair rather than a kid’s birthday party, that lot of unwanted/not-required people have been invited to this party when actually, the hosts are not that well-off financially... then why waste money like this!

I feel, yes, the party was a bit overboard for a 5-year-old boy but then at the end of the day, it is nobody’s business! People were invited to give their blessings to the child and not give unsolicited advice. This was a happy occasion for the family and they wanted everyone they know, to be a part of their happiness. They wanted to celebrate because this happiness came a little late in their lives! And all they wanted was everyone to be a part of it and nothing beyond that!

How difficult is that? And yet all everyone did was kept finding out faults in what should or shouldn’t have been done?               

Cheers

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Welcome to my Blog! This A to Z Challenge, my theme is ‘Let’s see the other Side’. Through this theme, I'm trying to giving voice lot of things that go around us and yet I can't do much to bring about the change. I feel, sharing my thoughts in my space here will somewhere make someone think and bring about the change we all want to see!
where I’ll be sharing about the daily nuances that we’ve been seeing in the same way since 1990’s! (:P) But this time you’re going to ponder over it a bit differently.

Feel free to express your thoughts and I'd be all ears!

I hope you have a great time here!