By Narendra Nayak

Mangalore: Prema Bhaktha wanted to celebrate her 75 birthday in a meaningful way. After having spent all her life battling odds and the barbs of the society she had lost all her beliefs in supernatural powers and did not want to spend any money on 'poojas' and such rigmarole associated with such celebration as she did not believe in any such, and secondly she did not want the priestly class to profit out of it!

When she approached ' Aid Without Religion Trust' for suggestions for a celebration, I told her that the best way to do that would be to feed hungry children, and she readily agreed. So, her birthday celebration was with the children of Gandhi Nagar Government Higher Primary school, with each child right from the kindergarten to the VIII standard being  given a sumptuous piece of cake and a crisp vegetable puff  which they thoroughly enjoyed. The children were happy with the delicious treat since many of them come from socially and economically backward sections of the society.

As we were leaving the premises tears were rolling down the cheeks of Prema who told me that it was the best birthday celebration in her life. Her daughter Deepti who had come down with her two children Nikhil and Mihir all the way from United States  to wish her mother happy birthday in person nodded in agreement, and told me that she had never seen her mother so happy on any birthday celebration. So, how about it folks? Celebrate your birthday with something for the needy than splurge on celebrations? With the hooligans raiding birthday parties in the name of cultural degradation and display of immorality, this would be a good way, unless they raid such celebrations too under the pretext of cakes and puffs being against Hindu culture!