My dad celebrated his 75th birthday on July 31st. All of us, especially the grand-kids wanted to have a huge celebration in the Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai a place my dad was associated with all of his working life, for more than 60 years from the time he as 18 until he finally retired at 70.
But Dad for some strange reasons did not want a public celebration. We finally convinced him to a private family celebration at Goa. It was going to be the first time that the entire family would be together. Frank. Don with his wife Mari, and kids Pranjali and Maya. Mabel with husband Premnath and kids Simran and Siddhant. And me, with my wife Ivy and kids Reia and Freia. Unfortunately a couple of weeks before the event, Freia had a scheduled project to Madhya Pradesh, which was part of her boards exams and so had to drop off.
The venue selected was the Taj Fort Aguada, Goa, a place where Dad was the GM in the late 70’s. And Mom and the 4 of us had spent a memorable month during our summer holidays. Dad, Mom, Don & his family and Frank along with a friend arrived in Goa on the 28th from Mangalore. Mabel and her family arrived on the same day, from Mumbai. Reia and I flew down on the 29th and Ivy arrived on the 30th.
The hotel brought back great memories. And we had a wonderful time, visiting the holiday village, mostly eating buffet breakfasts, lunches and dinners. It was also the first time I visited a gym, and actually used some of the equipment, mainly the treadmill. Don was my coach and guide and his fitness is admirable and whilst I can try and emulate, 1 of those things that are probably beyond my reach. Thanks Don.
At midnight all of us went to Dad’s room and guess what. He was asleep. We woke him up, sang Happy Birthday and he cut his first cake of the day. This was sweet and short and the beginning of a momentous day.
Breakfast was at the Aguada’s coffee shop. After a sumptuous and with most of us preferring the not so healthy food, we got down to cutting the days 2nd cake. One more song, more good wishes and on this happy note, we all dispersed.
The main event was at 12.30. This was in the Italian restaurant. Chairs had been set in 2 rows and a projector set up. At 1230 Dad was called and he was pleasantly surprised, as he was not expecting anything. First, a video of memories which had been created using animoto, an interesting software was played. You can view this video at:
http://animoto.com/play/i8fPlrWRC3ZluQr3DDWicw
http://animoto.com/play/buRRV8sQD7R5xJq1AG000w
It brought back a lot of fond memories not only to Dad, but to all of us. The film ended with a poem written by Freia for the occasion.
And then was the time for the presentation. When we all presented Dad with a present. The first was a small packet, we asked Dad to guess. He guessed a cell phone, a watch, a camera, a ... He opened it to find a Lifebuoy soap. We reminded Dad how he used to give us a Lifebuoy soap as a Christmas present. His next gift was a Parker pen. Yet another of Dad’s favorite gifts. The 3rd was a note. A note that said “Anything for you”. And the final gift was a picture of a car and a key. This confused Dad a whole lot. Was it a prank. Or was this for real. And he finally figured, it was yet another joke. We cut the 3rd cake of the day, sang, took pictures including replicating poses and locations we had captured decades ago. And we then went had another sumptuous buffet meal.
After a relaxed evening, and a final breakfast we bid adieu to the Fort Aguada. On the way to the airport, Dad wanted to know how he was going to go home. And all of us said, take the bus. We’ll let you do what you always wanted. Dad was confused. Mom was upset. A great holiday and then a bus. Not even a cab. At the airport, Dad wanted to take a cab. We said No. And walked out of the airport. And there was my friend Salil. With the car. Dad’s new car. The photograph was real. The key was real. And Dad and Mum lit up like kids. I guess, sometimes parents can be kids. The sight of both of them beaming, made this one of our best moments ever.
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