Summer Travel to India – Part V – New Delhi Again

Our final destination this summer was New Delhi again for the third time. This time we had my niece’s birthday to look forward to. She was quite excited about becoming a teenager. The day we got back to New Delhi she was all set to go shopping for some new clothes. An important birthday ritual for Indians is that the birthday person wears new clothes on their birthday. There were five of us, my niece, her parents and her two aunts (me and her mom’s sister). All of us browsed through the store and with the help of a saleslady put together a few outfits for her to try on. In the end we boiled down to four sets that looked good. She was so excited we got her all four of them. She wondered when she would wear them all. My suggestion was she greets her guests to her birthday party in one outfit. Have dinner in another, dessert in yet a third one and then a final change to bid everyone a goodbye. No, that is not what she did.
It was quite late in the evening when the birthday guests arrived so we decided to cut the cake first. My kids were quite excited about the cake as they had tasted it before and knew it would be good. What they were not prepared for was this – my niece cut the cake and as is tradition was fed the first piece of cake. As soon as she took a bite the rest of the piece was smeared all over her face. My youngest thought this was so cool. I think he can’t wait to try this on someone else now. Another fun tradition among kids is the birthday bumps. Where friends grab your arms and legs and swing you in the air and on every down swing they bump you on the floor. You have to endure as many bumps as the number of years in your birthday. My kids thought this was quite funny. My youngest would keep jumping on his cousin and then she would fall to the floor (which I had thankfully asked them to cushion with a mattress). So her bumps turned more into falls. A good time was had by all. (Pic 1: sign at McDonald's)
After the birthday it was mainly wrap-up time in India, figuring out any last minute details, confirming travel plans, and saying goodbyes. After travelling for 5 weeks, it is always good to come home. But after the hustle and bustle of the city and so much family it felt very quiet in Madison. The house feels too big for just the four of us. But after a while as jetlag wears off, we all settle into our routines and life goes on. (Pic 2: Pretty much what Delhi looked like this summer)
Copyright Kalpana Kanwar August 2009