28th December 2007: my first b’day away from my family and honestly I don’t know how to describe it…
I have heard horror stories about the numerous occasions where the b’day boy (these kinds of wild and uncivil acts of hooliganism are usually predominant in the boys’ hostel) was suspended in air and hit by all and sundry (kicks, chappals, shoes… you name it, you got it), inundated with all sorts of garbage- eggs, shampoos, shaving cream, toothpaste and of course the yummy chocolate cake smeared all over! The girls were comparatively better and kinder: in the 6 months in my B-school life, we have celebrated a number of birthdays on the stroke of midnight, but it’s been all candles and cards and cakes- a far cry from what happens in D-hostel! So I waited for my b’day with part excitement and part anxiety….
The Cinderella story began a few minutes before midnight as phone calls started pouring in and as the tradition goes, my room mates guided me to someone else’s room where the cake was waiting for me in all its glory! I pretended to b surprised and was relieved: so far so good! However, I had barely managed to put the knife on the cake when I was suddenly attacked from behind with toothpaste smeared all over my face and hair. Before I could recover, I found myself drenched to the skin as buckets of water were hurled on to me… and then I saw the tempting dark chocolate disappear in front of my eyes, most of which was now on my face and hair. The combined taste of water, toothpaste and cake made it a bitter pill. I started to run for dear life and disappeared into the bathroom, my clothes all spoilt and smeared with the paste. As I found solace under the shower with my ears glued to the phone, I decided that it was the safest place on a birthday! It was Shrijit’s b’day as well, and he got a much worse treatment than I did! At times I thank god that I am not a guy.
The next day was pretty much the same routine with lectures through the day punctuated with phone calls and wishes. At times like these, you realize how many people care about you and how precious life really is. Obviously, Shrijit prefers to look at it in the most pessimistic way: “Birthdays just celebrate another year of NOT DYING!” The most precious gift was a card by my friends who all scribbled little messages on it which I am going to treasure forever. As the day came to an end, and I was almost asleep, I got the last surprise when my Corpcom team members dragged me out of the bed downstairs for the 2nd cake cutting ceremony: action replay of the previous night!
So my b’day began in the bathroom and ended the same way! But I really enjoyed the most “painfully amazing” b’day ever!
I have heard horror stories about the numerous occasions where the b’day boy (these kinds of wild and uncivil acts of hooliganism are usually predominant in the boys’ hostel) was suspended in air and hit by all and sundry (kicks, chappals, shoes… you name it, you got it), inundated with all sorts of garbage- eggs, shampoos, shaving cream, toothpaste and of course the yummy chocolate cake smeared all over! The girls were comparatively better and kinder: in the 6 months in my B-school life, we have celebrated a number of birthdays on the stroke of midnight, but it’s been all candles and cards and cakes- a far cry from what happens in D-hostel! So I waited for my b’day with part excitement and part anxiety….
The Cinderella story began a few minutes before midnight as phone calls started pouring in and as the tradition goes, my room mates guided me to someone else’s room where the cake was waiting for me in all its glory! I pretended to b surprised and was relieved: so far so good! However, I had barely managed to put the knife on the cake when I was suddenly attacked from behind with toothpaste smeared all over my face and hair. Before I could recover, I found myself drenched to the skin as buckets of water were hurled on to me… and then I saw the tempting dark chocolate disappear in front of my eyes, most of which was now on my face and hair. The combined taste of water, toothpaste and cake made it a bitter pill. I started to run for dear life and disappeared into the bathroom, my clothes all spoilt and smeared with the paste. As I found solace under the shower with my ears glued to the phone, I decided that it was the safest place on a birthday! It was Shrijit’s b’day as well, and he got a much worse treatment than I did! At times I thank god that I am not a guy.
The next day was pretty much the same routine with lectures through the day punctuated with phone calls and wishes. At times like these, you realize how many people care about you and how precious life really is. Obviously, Shrijit prefers to look at it in the most pessimistic way: “Birthdays just celebrate another year of NOT DYING!” The most precious gift was a card by my friends who all scribbled little messages on it which I am going to treasure forever. As the day came to an end, and I was almost asleep, I got the last surprise when my Corpcom team members dragged me out of the bed downstairs for the 2nd cake cutting ceremony: action replay of the previous night!
So my b’day began in the bathroom and ended the same way! But I really enjoyed the most “painfully amazing” b’day ever!
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