Astonishing Birthday [Bienvenidos a Chile--Part -2]

Just one week passed by in Chile... I was still struggling to get settled in new office environment, new colleagues, new city and new country.

I was really upset on one thing, and that was my birthday which was only after 7 days of my arrival in Chile. I was lost in world of Spanish and Tamil speaking unknown people there so obviously no one is going to wish me on that day personally. This very fact was making me more nervous.

Finally that gloomy birthday day arrived. I got up and with very sad mood spoke to my family on phone and took their blessings. The entire day at work went like a usual day, with lots of work, work and only work. Nothing was special, no one wished me as no one knew that it was my birthday that day.

I reached my hotel room after marathon 13 hours work schedule in office. I was not at all in a mood to prepare dinner. Again I called up my father and gathered his sympathy for being alone in the most remote corner of the world on my birthday. My father’s lovable wishes were not enough to cheer me up. I decided to sleep empty stomach. I switched off my room’s light and called it a day.

After around 15 minutes suddenly the door bell rang. As I hardly knew anyone there, nobody used to visit me in my room except housekeeping department ladies from hotel. I was more surprised they used to come during afternoon time and it was around 11 pm then. I opened the door but no one was there. I was really amused who would have rang the bell this much late in night.

Now it was time for phone to ring….. Ahhh it was a local call. I was even more surprised…. Who will be calling me at this time that too from Chile? It was my next door neighbor Mani on the call who was my colleague too. She asked me to go to her room as she wanted some help from me. I entered her room, without single hint of the great surprise which she had already arranged for me inside.

I couldn’t believe on my eyes what I was looking at. Mani who was my just colleague. We would have hardly spoken to each other except work related matter.  That person inspite of coming late from office at 10.30 pm, prepared a nice dinner and decorated cake for my birthday!!!! That gesture of hers really made me so emotional.

Hetal: "I do not have words Mani, you have simply stunned me. How come you knew that it’s my birthday today?"

Mani: "I saw your passport so I knew. I know it feels really bad when we are all alone on our birthday. I really wanted to celebrate your birthday grand way but due to work I got late from office. I couldn’t bring good birthday cake and prepare nice dinner for you. But we will still manage the show with this pan cake, one balloon and Dosa. So come dear let’s celebrate its still 11.15 pm and we have 45 min more before end of the day. "

 

We started our celebration. I cut the cake, enjoyed the Dosa made by Mani followed by funnier Ghanchakkar clicks of photos. We cracked jokes, laughed like mad people. I tried to watch and understand couple of Tamil movie scenes on laptop with help of Mani. Suddenly that evening converted into one of funniest day I had ever spent in my life when I laughed that much.

 

Sometimes unknown persons touch our lives in such a special manner that they leave a permanent print on our memory lane. She just transformed my sad mood and brought me back to my original Ghanchakkar mood. Mani was really an angel to me who just came and flipped the most gloomy birthday of my life to one of the most astonishing birthday.