EAT, PRAY, LOVE

A new age begins for PREETI JABBAL in the true sense of the word

You can take the butterfly out of the social but not the social out of the butterfly. My milestone birthday happened to be smack bang in the middle of stage-2 restrictions due to the COVID response in Australia and boy, did I party!

Before you socially responsible kind start dobbing me to the cops let me tell you it was not that kind of a party. Not in the traditional sense but it ended up being the most memorable one I have ever had.

The original birthday party that I had meticulously planned for months got cancelled due to the COVID scare, and I bawled my eyes out with disappointment. But I got over it quickly enough. I mean, here was my chance to officially stall reaching the big number so what was I complaining about? I choose to remain 49 for a few more months till the virus settles.

As a true blood social being, nothing ticks me more than interacting with a variety of people. My heart stood still in shock when ScoMo announced this alien concept called social distancing. I mean, our species have no knowledge of how to go about that. From being so busy that my own husband needed an appointment to catch up with me, to cooking for him day and night, I had no idea homebound domesticity was on my cards!

Anyway, as the cliché goes, if life gives you lemons then make lemonade, so I tamed the social beast in me and trained it to sit at home and do some ‘glamorous’ chores like cooking, washing and cleaning. My inner masterchef surfaced as I reluctantly bid farewell to my regular restaurants and pulled down the Uber eats menus from my refrigerator.

I even found faith!

The day before my birthday I joined a group of pious family friends to conduct an hour-long online session of mool mantra prayers seeking blessings and protection from Coronavirus, in conjunction with a similar worldwide initiative. Hopefully God has deployed some angels our way!

On D-day the sun shone bright, the take- away coffee beckoned, the cash gifts in my purse crackled with excitement but I resisted all temptations and did not cross the Lakshman rekha of my door. When the doorbell rang however, I stepped out to be met with my first beautiful surprise.

My beautician friend stood 1.5 meters away from my door. She then broke into a complete song and dance routine in true Bollywood style around the trees in my front yard. As she sang Tum Jio Hazaaron Saal and blew me kisses from afar, a random passer-by stopped to ask for an encore.

My special day had begun.

The rest of the day my phone did not stop, my WhatsApp lit up with notifications and the FB timeline flooded with messages. People had more time on hand, so wishes were more creative than the lazy HBTU.

The doorbell went again in the evening but this time a handsome bottle sat on my doorstep. I sanitised it with alcohol to discover it was Veuve Clicquot my favourite champagne. “Dropping off a little something on the way to our essential grocery run,” said the note on the not - so - little bottle. Awww! How thoughtful and contactless!

An hour later the doorbell went off again but by now I had my makeup and prettiest dress on in anticipation. It was time for a surprise from big brother. Sitting innocuously on my doorstep was a box of the most delicious and humungous coffee cake (another favourite) ever. With no one else but my immediate family of three to share it with, I happily ignored the fact that it was going to be a moment onmy lips and a lifetime on the hips.

Then started the four-hour virtual party.

My sister-in-law hadset up a Zoom session with my closest friends in Melbourne and my family around the globe to offer a toast on my reaching the golden age. The aforementioned cake was cut, the now chilled champagne popped, and the best silver dug out from its boxes in celebration.

A collective toast comprising of all manners of beverages from cola to green tea to single malt whiskey was raised in multiple households. It was BYOB time!

I Zoom-ed with my aunt in London who I had not met since September 2018 and my uncle and cousins in Shimla who I had not seen since my last trip to India in 2016. It was all very emotional yet joyous. Speeches and conversation flowed easily along with the bubbly during thosehappy hours.

A new age had begun in the true sense of the word!

Every one of my family and friends had been impacted in some way or the other with the COVID restrictions either financially or psychologically but it was time to forget all that and enjoy the moment and be thankful that we were safe and healthy.

Imissed the real hugs and kisses but not the love that came from all directions from this global, virtual milestone get-together. Later that night I donated to a GoFundMe initiative to assist Indians stranded in Melbourne in order to give back to the community that has given me so much.

For all my fellow Aries and Taureans, if your birthday is around the corner, let the virtual celebrations begin with Zoom, Google hangouts and Houseparty!