And so I turned fifty. The strange thing
about that is that this can never be a surprise; but there you are… a day or
two from the event, and guess what?? You are surprised. Wow! How did that
happen?
Surprised? Seriously?? Moron. It has been happening for
49 years and 360+ days. Get with the program.
The thing is, we don’t really pay attention
to our age till we hit a milestone. 20 was probably the most looked forward to
of these. I was no longer a teenager. I was TWENTY. Then came twenty-one. For
the life of me I cant understand the significance of that number. What the fuck
is so great about being twenty-one? What halfwit set laws to make drinking
legal at 21? You can marry at 18 (or 16 if you were a woman), drive at 18, vote
governments in at the same age, but you cant drink? Go figure.
Thirty. Now things get serious and you
start to worry. I was a father of two. I was supposed to have been responsible
and mature and close to middle age. Well, I think thirty is [if I am not
mistaken] where middle age starts. Careers are supposed to be up and running
and you are supposed to have a clue about what you want to do with your life. Damned
If I had a clue at that age…
Forty. Divorce number one and marriage
number two, all around the same time. I now have my size tens firmly planted in
middle age, with an ever-expanding mortgage and overdraft. Collar size sees a
dramatic increase from 15 ½ to 16 ½ and waist from 31 to 34. Weight sees a
corresponding upward movement and thankfully so does career. Hair starts to
thin, chins increase in numbers and my mid drift seems to block the view of my
manhood, at least till I crane my neck to see if its all there. I survived.
Suddenly I am fifty. I planned and
re-planned my celebrations. Bands, Halls, cocktails, dinners, went through
lengthy guest lists for a year and finally settled for the most sensible thing
in my opinion. Give most of the party budget to charity and settle for a few
nights of alcoholic mayhem with those near and dear.
It all fell into place when the Bradby
Shield, the annual Rugby encounter between my High School and one up in the
hills, was scheduled on the weekend of my birthday in Kandy.
For the past 24 years, barring a couple,
I have made the annual trip up to Kandy, to the Citadel Hotel, the annual
gathering place of most former Royalist Rugby players and alumnus, to spend
this weekend in a alcoholic haze under the guise of being vaguely interested in
the game or the outcome of it. It has been a great excuse to get together with
many an old and dear friend and drink copious quantities of booze and behave
like teenagers.
Rugby songs are sung and acted out, old
yarns are swapped and one has been known to have run screaming through the
hotel lobby stripped down to his undies, in the wee hours of the morning, with
a rugby ball tucked under his arm, or leaping into the pool still in said
undies much to the horror of the long suffering bar staff, some of whom have
watched twenty something boys, grow to fifty something men and still behave the
same.
This year was no different.
It all started off on Thursday night,
when we finished an official conference call that was a great success and
decided to celebrate that along with my colleague Roshan’s birthday, which it
was. Drinks early and home. Early and home worked out well. Early morning that
is. Charlene had arranged for my friend to surprise me at the bar (kind of
misfired when Ranil forwarded the text to me).
One drink or two, turned out to be many drinks and laughs and a great
evening. My sons and Sahar (Sachin’s girlfriend) dropped in as well and it was
an awesome start to my birthday.
I had to drag myself to office the next
morning as ‘surprises’ had been planed [that I knew all about] and I could not
let the folks down. Surprisingly I was quite bright eyed and made it without
too much grief. After the celebrations and wishes, I headed back home. C and I
had decided to fly to Kandy that afternoon so the trip was painless. 20 minutes
of bouncing around and we were there. A far cry from the three plus hours of
traffic we would have endured had we not given ourselves a birthday treat.
The boys and Sahar had driven up earlier
with a big box of booze and when we got to the Citadel, the familiar faces
greeted us with big grins saying “babaala denna awa” (the two babies had
arrived) although far from babies, the boys had been coming up with me since
they were babies and were the same in the eyes of the older staff members.
The box of booze was quite ‘adequate’. A
dozen bottles each of Scotch and Vodka. I was expecting the usual suspects to
be there and in addition my former boss and ‘mentor’ Ajit Gunawardene, had made
special effort to be there for the Friday evening and long with his band of
merry men (and women) who were regulars at the event.
I will spare you all the details, but let
me tell you that, ‘that was the best fiftieth birthday I had in my life’. Well,
that was the bright statement I made at 6.30 am when I was getting out of the
pool having soaked in it since 4 am. It all seemed like a good idea at that
time. I’d like to think based on the humor the song and the conversation that
was had by all, and that all those present and accounted for had a great time.
The fifty year olds, out lasted the twenties and the sixty and the seventy year
olds out sang us all. There is nothing quite so special than spending a
spontaneous evening with closest friends and this night was exceptional.
Chulaka, Ranil, Butchchi, Deb, Wathsala, Sriyan, Minal, Shiraz, Ajith and
Ruwani, Ajit G and Co and of course my amazing sons Sharya and Sachin, our
‘daughter’ Sahar and their bunch of merry men, thank you. To the many others
who drifted in and out of the evening, thank you as well; you’ll truly made my
day (and night) special.
They say a man is as good as the company he
keeps. I have had the best. I could ask for no more. My Z3 brothers and sisters,
The riders, The walkers, Dinesh, Niththi, Bunny, Ro, George and D you were
missed; Those who are no more, Harith, Harish, SA, Josh, Ravi and many others.
Not being mentioned here does not mean any lesser degree of importance in my life;
I owe what I am to you. Thank you. I am forever grateful for the friendship,
shared experience and companionship.
