My name is Sulabha Nadkarni.
I was born in Goa and brought up in Mumbai. At the overripe age of 47, I came to
California to join my parents and my husband and kids followed the next
year. Ever since, we are in San
Francisco.
I worked in US till I was 73 and after retirement, I have
kept myself busy with social work and social life. I am also an artist at heart. So I have always kept myself busy in oil
painting, Nirmal painting (a specialty
from Hyderabad) and other such things.
Recent passion is making quilts and knitting.
Last seven years, we have been making annual visits to
India, meeting our family (more my in-laws) and friends and sometimes visiting
new places. This year, we went to India
in January with return tickets for March 15.
Near the end of February, my younger brother-in-law called to tell us
that our nephew (who lives near Amsturdam) is visiting Mumbai and we will have
a get-together on March 9. I was
thrilled at the idea of meeting everybody at one place before leaving. My younger sister-in-law asked me if I would
sing at the gathering. I declined to do
so as my voice is not good enough anymore.
She also insisted that I wear a saree and NOT a salwaar/khameez
etc. Because, she said they had decided
to take a picture of our generation. My
older brother-in-law was coming from Bangalore for the occasion. I did not smell a rat!
My son took us to Bandra Otter Club, where the party was
scheduled to be. I was happy to see the
family, all in-laws, their kids and grandkids.
We were having a good time. All
of a sudden, I was whisked away to another table where my older brother-law and
my husband were already seated. In a few
minutes, before my mind could grasp what was happening, out came my beautiful
sisters-in-law along with my younger brother-in-law carrying a big tray lit up
with lots of tiny candles. They came to
my table and all started singing "Happy Thousand Moons" and
then.....my mind LIT up!!! I saw the
candles set up to spell '1000'. They had
already planned to celebrate my 80th birthday (which actually fell on 6th July
2012) I was offered a bouquet of flowers
and a pedha. Then my sister-in-law
applied haldi-kumkum on my forehead.
What a Sweet Surprise that was !
I had never expected this to happen as it was just March. But the whole Nadkarni Clan was in one room
joyously celebrating my 80th birthday.
What better celebration could there be!
I was overwhelmed with happiness and the memory of the event
will linger in my mind forever and ever.
So nice to read ! It was indeed a Day !Wish you happy and healthy life, Sulabhatai !
ReplyDelete