Candles and capitalism

For the first 20 years of my life I did not realise the importance of birthdays. On the Christian hillside in Kerala where I grew up, the on...

For the first 20 years of my life I did not realise the importance of birthdays. On the Christian hillside in Kerala where I grew up, the only birthday people bothered to remember and celebrate was that of Jesus. For mortals, birthdays came and went, but nobody noticed or bothered. Things are changing fast, however. With material prosperity, birthdays of elders have become occasions for children to declare their arrival in life. Children, well settled in the Gulf or North America, come home to organise what is officially called a 8220;prayer meeting8221; on the occasion of a parent8217;s 70th or 80th birthday. Sometimes, as per the itinerary of the children, the birthday is advanced or postponed. According to each one8217;s financial and social standing, local VIPs and church leaders say politically correct things about the wise old man of the village, followed by good food.

My grandfather inadvertently duped my father and uncles by advancing his 80th birthday by two years; but all of us were happy that it happened so because he did not live for two years more. In any case, age for the elders was what they claimed.

For us children, age was related to academic year. When we moved on to the next standard, one year was added to our age. It all changed when I reached the Madras Christian College, where I spoke my first sentence of English. One midnight, a group of drunken friends forced their way into my room, smashed eggs on my face and declared that it was my birthday. But for the overpowering numbers against me, I would have kept aside my belief in non-violence and reacted. Soon, I became a willing partner in the midnight birthday bashes in the hostel, but never remembered anyone8217;s birthday.

Later, at JNU, I realised that not only the birthday of Jesus, even my own was a capitalist conspiracy 8220;to sell their products, creating needs for unnecessary things8221;. Now I had a good theoretical base for forgetting the birthdays of close friends; in fact, I lectured them on the need to rise above all such market temptations. After all, my love and care were above and beyond what Archies copywriters could ever comprehend!

Unfortunately, my wife is not quite sure about the capitalist angle of birthdays. Far from it, she goes wild if try to educate her on the evil forces of capitalism. Left with no option, I am trying to delete some mathematical equations from my brain, and feed in some important birthdays. With the religiosity of remembering the Lord8217;s Prayer, or the Hanuman Chalisa, for the past 18 months I have been on something of a mission.

The results are encouraging. I scored major points with my wife last Monday by being the first to wish my sister-in-law a happy birthday. After all, I believe not only in non-violence, but in peace also. And that too must begin at home.