My Bundle of Joy is 25!

(On Pragya's Birthday, June 13, 2014)

Yes, it was just the other day I held you in my arms as my own little doll, a baby girl in a family of men and boys. O! How I wished to have a daughter, who my own mother had already named, years before you were born - Pragya. When you took your first tottering steps round that small table, when you bit my fingers with your first tiny teeth,when you steadied yourself clutching my trousers and when you snuggled in for the silly stories that I had to create every night, the delight was unbound. From the first day in the school, when you would keep looking back beseeching us to rescue you to the most mature member of the family looks like a leap in time. It looks as if it was yesterday when you spoke your first words and then again it looks so far away.

Then your going away to a boarding school. You may have cried aloud, but our hearts bled every day. But, what a blossom we plucked from your school after those years! Supremely confident and a sight to behold, how proud you made us! A guide to your parents beyond your age. We are becoming dependent on you and we didn't even notice the roles change.

Betu, even though it may have been an easy sail, you must prepare for the unseen and the unknown that may come your way. Twenty five years is a quarter of a century, but it is only a few years into adulthood. As the shade of your own parents slowly retreats, you will grow into one who must become that shade to others. So, live your life to the full, enjoy the zest of success as I know you will and yet keep your feet firmly planted and your moorings firm. It takes little to go adrift. All setbacks and heartaches must be allowed to fade and all successes and triumphs savoured. Share your joys with your friends and the sorrows with us. But, be the light that shows the path to all.

It is hard to imagine you will fly away one day to build your own nest. But, such a day must come and we will gladly see you go away. I will grieve not in your absence, but relive the moments of your life in my rocking chair with coffee in one hand a photo album in the other.

Happy Birthday, Betu!