Generally speaking birthdays are not made much of in India. Success, a new job, a raise and such good fortune is usually the occasion to buy sweets to distribute to one's friends and family.Boiled milk and sugar sweets are bought by the kilogram.One festival day I was the only woman buying sweets in a shop among 100 men who didn't understand queueing!
Birthdays are, however, becoming more important as part of the democratic process to identity and manage India's huge thousand million plus population. The computer age has to compute the population, to identify voters, travellers and tax payers. There is a now plethora of identity cards,often issued and recognized by different government departments. The information can vary from card to card. A friend's card had his brother's photo and his age as 33 instead of 46. A bank recently required not a passport but a tax card, even from someone is unemployed and doesn't pay tax! Indians can travel to Nepal on a driving licence or an election card. It is reported that 96% of people now have a card with a photo - though it may not be of the holder! At least a photo card gets over the often required proof of voting that required indelible ink on the fingers as identity - very useful for those leprosy patients without fingers. People who can't sign their names (often village women) have to place an indelible ink thumb print on bank documents, cheques etc. The non-government sponsored banks don't allow thumbprints..
When I worked with leprosy patients in field clinics we had to estimate the age of the children for their correct dose of drugs. I got a child to stand on my toes and if I could raise my toes he/she was below 20kg. If they had second front teeth they were 7 yrs old!
Parents and grandparents who bring children to our Brighter Future homes often do not know the age, or the birth date, of their charges.In rural areas one is born 'before or after Divali' or another festival. We have to estimate their ages, though if they had started primary school school the admission certificate for the first class was usually at about 6 yrs. and gave a date. Exam results would in future bear that date and it became the birth date for the rest of their lives..
When Brighter Future started in 2005 the children celebrated a birthday with a cardboard cake with candles, accompanied by sweets and biscuits for all present. When the Prem Nivas HIV/Aids children's home started we wanted to give the children as many treats as possible in their lives as we didn't know how long they would live. In 2006 there was no treatment for HIV+ children and we had several child deaths. We still buy real cakes covered in gooey brightly coloured cream with their name on it for all our children and give out fruits and sweet meats..
Birthdays are now cake and candles in all homes, with treats for all the children, 'Happy Birthday's two verses (the second verse being "and God bless you") with often a time to dance, sing favourite songs and play games,.The children make cards for one another from the scraps and old cards that I take out with me.They love to get a card or an email from thier sponsor on the other side of the world and hear about family and pets and hobbies.
MAY and JUNE birthdays
Thompson House
,Raju 16.5.98, Ruth B 20.5.98,Ramesh K 26.5.99,Durga Rao 12.6.99, Keerti 13.06.01, Teja 27.6.07
Karuna Nivas
Somesh 13.5.03, Rajesh Y 6.6.05,Prasad 11.06.01,Kalyani A 12.6.06, Kiran K 3.6.97
Prem Nivas
Bhagwan 10.5.04,Eshwaramma 15.5.03,Sai Km 1.6.02, Bangaraju 6.6.06, James Durga 12.6.99,Yesuraju M 14.6.01,
DMC -Rainbow
Mariyamma 4.5.99, Nayomi 22.5.04,Simhachalam 01.06.04, Anand 04.06.08, Pavan T 8.6.03,Esther 8.6.05,Gowri 10.6.05,Santosh D. 30.5.03,Sneha 9.6.99,Sanyasi 10.6.97, Prasad J 14.6.97,Vasavi 26.6.96,Praveen 26.6.03,
JULY and AUGUST birthdays
Thompson House
Sateesh G 01.07.06, Keerti 11.07 01, Vidya Sagar V. 13.08.97, Pydi 18.08.99, Manikanta 27.08.03,Krishnaveni 08.08.99, Bhavani 10.08.02,
Karuna Nivas
Dhanunjay 17.07.01,Rajesh Y 05.08.03, Pavani Durga 04.08.05,
Prem Nivas
Jhansi 04.07.03, Madhavi 07.07.03, Sharmila 23.07, Bhagya 25.08.03, DMC - Rainbow
Amrutha 10.07.01,Priyanka 26.07.04,Tabitha 28.07.05, Anil Kumar 12.07.05, Avila B 05.07.11, Kiran B 27.07.09.
It takes about ten days for a card to get to India. The address for all children is;-
Brighter Future India, P O Box 18, plot 705 Vuda Layout, Visianagaram
pin 535003, Andhra Pradesh. India
The email address is;-
brighterfutureindia@gmail.com
