You Say it's Your Birthday...

Mumbai (Bombay), India

August 19, 2007

N 18°57.250

E 072°48.667

We landed in Mumbai around 10:00 PM local time on Friday night and immediately began seeing the sites of Bombay. Our friend, Abbas Merchant, whom we haven’t seen in six years, was patiently waiting for us at the airport and ready to show us a good time. After dropping off our backpacks at his home and meeting his wife Zainab we headed out to grab a bite to eat. We also talked about the big event scheduled for the following day, their daughter Sana’s 1st birthday party.

The planning for the party started two months ago; renting a hall, picking a theme and creating a guest list. A final invite list was whittled down to 150 guests, all receiving invitations customized with “The Little Mermaid” theme. Party gifts, chalkboards with “The Little Mermaid” and Nemo for younger kids and CD cases for older kids, were personalized for every child attending.

The cake was ordered, “The Little Mermaid” theme, of course, and color coordinated with the decorations in the hall for the evening. Styrofoam cut-outs of Nemo, Little Mermaid as well as hundreds of white, blue and green balloons added to the theme of the event. The stage was decorated with a blue background and cutouts of dolphins, seahorses, turtles, jellyfish and sea plants. A big sign read Happy Birthday Sana. There were plenty of events for the kids including caricature drawings, tattoos, games and a magic show. Everything was perfectly coordinated by the party planner with Zainab’s occasional assistance.

We arrived at the private Cricket Club at 8:00 PM, with the guest of honor herself, and made our grand entrance into the CK Nayudu Banquet Hall. The entire family, dressed in beautifully color coordinated outfits, greeted their guests as they arrived. By 8:30 PM the hall was teeming with grandparents, parents, friends, kids and nannies, all mingling and talking in groups, while sipping fresh watermelon or pineapple juice and munching on chicken sate or corn curd. Everyone treated us like family; welcoming us to India, introducing themselves and chatting with us throughout the evening.

The children were all very well behaved, especially as the night wore on; playing games, watching the magic show (which Marc participated in) and running about playing tag. After the scheduled entertainment concluded it was time to cut the cake! Sana cut the cake in a ceremony where everyone from the family took a bite from the eldest member of the family to the youngest, similar to a cake cutting in a wedding where the bride and groom feed each other.

After dinner it was close to 11:00 PM and most people called it a night. The party was an absolute success with fun had by everyone at all ages.

Marc and I were shocked by the size of the party, larger than many weddings at home, and definitely larger than our wedding. We were very happy to be a part of Sana’s birthday celebration and experience a special celebration in a different culture.

And the party just kept going…. On Sunday the entire family arrived at the Merchant household. This was Sana’s birthday according to their religious calendar; however, celebration begins at sundown the night prior.

Sana was dressed in a traditional birthday outfit for the religious ceremony with her family. All of the women were clad in traditional Indian dress of vibrant colors and meticulously placed sequins. They placed their scarves on their heads, placed a pinch of sugar to Sana, Zainab lips and one for themselves before they rotated foil wrapped coconuts clockwise in front of Sana; as everyone jubilantly sang and clapped “Happy Birthday” to Sana.

I took my turn with the coconuts before we all made our way to a traditional Indian meal at a local restaurant. The birthday celebration continued throughout brunch as everyone talked about how it seemed like just yesterday when Sana was born. The entire family was beaming with pride at the youngest member of their family.

The “official” birthday celebration ended shortly after lunch when everyone, pretty much in a food coma, was ready for a big long nap… except for the birthday girl, of course! Sana was still wired from all the stimulation over the past 24 hours from celebrating her first of many birthdays to come.