My dearest Lashykanna,
I have your birthday down in my book as falling on March 15, so today I started looking around for the splendiferous birthday thread which I was sure would be up and running as fast as Usain Bolt. But then I found this thread which had begun on March 14 itself.
I do not think my datum is wrong, or are you one of midnight's children, born in the witching hour, and minute and second, between March 14 and March 15? Either way, I am glad I am not a late lateef this time at least!
I did not post earlier because I did not want my modest, colourless, undecorated message to get lost amidst the welter of the lush offerings: stories, poems, edits, and cakes the size of the bride, and a whole array of eats scrumptious enough to tempt even Lucullus!
It was a wise precaution to take, for I myself was so transfixed by Kausi's multifarious tributes to you, Lashykanna, that I have not yet progressed beyond Page 1!š
My dearest child, all I can say to you, as I send you my love and blessings on this auspicious day, is that you are the daughter I would have wanted to have. The more I see of you (metaphorically speaking!) the more I am convinced of this. I have never seen your face, but I am sure I know you inside out, and the exterior is more or less irrelevant.
I do not know on which day of the week you were born, but for me you are Friday's child. I have never seen you write a harsh word, no matter what the provocation, and I have rarely known anyone as non-judgemental as you can be, and as accepting, even of the most tiresome folk. I should know, for I myself am nothing like that. It is not always a good thing to be so, but even when it turns out to be a fault, it is the most generous fault imaginable.
You are a far better consensus builder, someone who can carry the most disparate individuals with you purely thru personal warmth, than I am, though I was trained to do precisely that all my working life.
Above all, you are one of the most affectionate and caring persons I have had the good fortune to have got to know.It comes naturally to you, and spills over and beyond your immediate loved ones - your Peshwa and the Three Terrors, the rest of your family - to so many, many others, here and undoubtedly elsewhere as well.
I have never forgotten your October 2013 campaign to make sure I did not stop posting on Jodha Akbar. Even the other day, when I revisited that thread, the truly amazing thing about it was the sheer range of very disparate persons you had got to sign on, including many who had no idea of my writing, but came on board only for your sake!
To cut things short, my Lashykanna - and about time too! - you are clearly a Very Special Person . So today, it stands to reason that you should have a Very Special Day. Enjoy it, my pet, but go easy with Kausi's cakes. I do not want you to have to spend tomorrow holding your nose and swallowing bitter kaadas!š
I shall pray for you to have a long, healthy, trouble-free existence, surrounded by those you love, in a nice, cosy cocoon of caring. May God bless you, my dearest girl, and keep you safe today and forever.
Shyamala Periyamma
Edited by sashashyam - 8 years ago
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