Sunday, March 18, 2007

Birthdays (dedicated to my sis,Anne)

Top:My 17th Birthday.Bottom:blowing candles together for our 12th/9th birthday
Our birthdays were all about presents,presents...

Can we speeden things up please...the icing looks delicious.Our 7th/4th birthday

Our 5th/3rd Birthday.I must say anne looks like a doll here.

My 8th birthday.We decided to have separate birthdays for once.

...and more presents!!!

Our 9th/6th birthday.One of my best birthdays ever.Almost all my classmates attended.

What birthday would be incomplete without a musical chairs event??


I have no clue whose birthday this is,but this must have been taken in St.Aidan during the late 60's or early 70's.My dad is 3rd from the left,standing!
There was a time when I couldnt imagine a birthday without celebrating it with my baby sister,Anne (she was named after St.Anne). It was the one event that both of us would long for all year round,and thankfully,mum and dad never let us down. Anne's birthday fell on March 31st and mine on 22nd...so to kill two birds with one stone (and save a heck load on birthday cost), we'd always end up celebrating a joint birthday either on March 31st or by the end of the first week of April.
Our sibling relationship has always been very special.Besides born under the same zodiac, we were both left-handed,and to my mum's utter agony,we were also very telepathic.I think she's lost count on the hundreds of occassions when we used to always say or do the same things at the same time. But as the years passed, it was something both of us began to comprehend and accept, and realised how close we really were. The more I think about it,the more I believe we should have been born as twins. Anything I did,she copied.And on one occassion,when i tried to imitate a character from the movie "Bionic Boy", she jumped off a hill simultaneously with me,and fell head first onto the tar road,ending up with 5 stitches on her forehead.
But our birthdays were something else.I think it was also the one occassion that most of the kids from Bahau used to look forward to because it always had at least 70-80 kids attending.The excellent part about this whole birthday thing was how we used to unite plenty of young adults who would willingly come forward to help my mum and dad organize the party,chip in with the cooking and assist my dad with the kiddy games. In fact,long after the kids had gone home, the adults would still linger on,creating a mini-party of drinks,food and sing-a-longs. To my sis,and me,we would be itching to open up (no..tear up) all those present wrappers to unearth what wonderful treasures that beckoned in our midst. Every new toy, we hugged with joy.At times, we tugged at each other's present,mostly grappling away over the largest one.Yet,I'll never, ever forget my sister's million dollar smile,and the twinkle in her eyes as she opened each present.Something money could not buy,and I saved every single smile in my mind for each birthday that sailed past in our lives.
I miss those birthdays with my sister.
The last time we celebrated together was for my 17th birthday, almost 20 years ago.We havent stood side-by-side,stooping over to whoosh the candles away for too long. I dont think it will happen this year either,but at least we get to meet each other once every two months.I met her 3 days back in Port Dickson,and the first thing I did was to walk over and give her the longest hug I have ever given her.It must have surprised her too.I guess, the sibling love I have for my baby sister still reigns supreme over everything else in this world.Sometimes as we grow out of our childhood, and progress from the teenage rebel years and into our adulthood,we lose some very precious portions of our lives.For me,I cherish those very wonderful moments I spent with my sister, from the day she was born, to the day I gave her away in marriage 8 years ago.In a flash, she has flown by my heart,blossoming from a little doll, to a gawky teen and into a beautiful woman.
I see a lot of her in the eyes of my nephew, and his mannerisms reflect a lost world I once used to share with my sis.
I guess time changes everything.As adults, we all undertake new responsibilities once we begin a family.Every day spent in the present, erases a piece of our past.Seasons change, people change..but as brother and sister we shall forever remain.I carry my sister's smile as my sunshine wherever I go, and she paints my world with colours whenever I think back of all those wonderful birthdays we used to share.









1 comment:

brian said...

Hi, Siva.

I was browsing the net and accidently pop into your blog. Great job. Keep it up.

Well i would like to introduce myself to you. I was from BAHAU too. Born there and studied in smk dato Mansor. I continued my form six in SMK tunku besar tampin which was in year 1991-1992.

Now i am living in Kuala Lumpur, working as a sports teacher in a secondary school.

My name is Ravi. I am a Chindian.I met you a few times when i was in Tampin and once in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi when you where there looking for me (year 1994).

Siva i am writting all this becouse, your blog has made me to go back to my old memories and it was very touching.

I hope you will read this comment.

pls drop me an email to me at sravishan@gmail.com and maybe we can meet up.

U take care my friend

from

Ravi Shan