The
twenty-first birthday of my eldest brother fell on the 10th of this month. My
father gave a grand dinner-party to mark the occasion. A large number on
relatives and my brother's personal friends had been invited to attend the
party. At my grandmother's request, the party was held at our house. She is now
rather too old to stand the strain of a long function held away from home. The
house had been cleaned. Whitewashed, and suitably redecorated before the
arrival of the auspicious day.
A little after 5p.m. the guests began to arrive. My brother and
our parents were all ready to receive them. As they arrived, they were received
at the front door of the house. All of them congratulate my brother and wished
him many happy returns of the day. Most of the guests gave presents to my
brother, though they had been specifically requested beforehand not to do so.
This was, however not the occasion to return the presents that had been brought
they were received most gratefully. The large table in our sitting-room was
covered with pockets containing books, pens, articles of clothing and many
other things.
My father had given my brother a new' Rolex' watch for his
birthday present and my mother had bought him a new fountain pen. We his
brothers, his sister and we had shown 0ur affection by putting together our
month's savings to buy him a pair of shoes. My grandmother gave him a handsome
gift in cash.
At 6.p.m. sharp, all accept our parents and my brother had taken
their seats in the hall, the gathering rose from their seats and sang a
birthday song befitting the occasion.
When everybody was seated again, the dinner started. It consisted
of a variety of delicious dishes especially prepared by my mother. Between the
courses, there were speeches songs, and tit-bits. Thus the dinner continued up
to 8 p.m.
At the end of the dinner, there were some games. These continued
till all agreed that they were now quite ready for a few dances. A number of
dances tunes had been recorded beforehand.These were now played back. We danced
and danced till we were tired. At one stage, our parents also took the floor
to, a long and loud applause from the spectators. My grandmother was, perhaps,
the happiest of us all, as she watched while reclining on her easy chair.
Shortly before 11p.m. the dancing came to an end. Our parents and
my brother bade goodbye to the guests and thanked them for their company. The
guests in return, thanked them for the good time they had.
No comments:
Post a Comment