I remember when I was little, I used to absolutely love the feeling when the month of May started because then I would start counting the days from my calendar till the date my birthday arrived! I used to think of all the gifts I would get, the clothes I would wear, whom I would invite, etc. It used to be the best time of my life. Many people still feel ecstatic when their birthdays start looming near the horizon!
You know, that’s the thing about birthdays. It makes everyone feel like a child. It makes us giddy, with all the phone calls and birthday cards and well wishes. The parents of the birthday kid stand tall and proud over the fact that they have raised their child to their ultimate best and feel privileged to see their cub grow and prosper!
That’s the thing about birthdays. It makes everybody happy!
While we are on the topic of birthdays who can forget the biggest birthday of the year? December 25. The day when Jesus Christ was born! This day hosts the largest amounts of parties and get-togethers and family reunions of the year! Almost everyone will be full of smiles and laughs, everyone except for members of one family.
There will be one family which will host a birthday party where no one will be able to laugh from their heart! There will be one family who will host a get-together and they will smile through their tears and pain and raise their glasses to toast the birth of their son all the while, wishing for his presence amongst them! Indeed it will be a family-reunion. It will be a family trying to reunite the pieces of their broken hearts through sadness, longing, togetherness and through the remembrance of their only son, Abhishek.
On December 25, with the world celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the Singh family would celebrate this day for a whole new reason. For it was the day their son Abhishek Singh was born! As each year passed, Abhishek turned out to be the kind of person who are rare to find in these times… especially these times! He was kind, compassionate, driven, took part in the just the right amount of mischief and was an angel of a soul! He was the dutiful son, the protective brother and the most loyal friend.
It pains me to even acknowledge the fact that Abhishek is not with us today. It fills me with despair that the world won’t be able to see what a truly wonderful person Abhishek was. It fills me with helplessness that he was taken away forcefully from his loved ones! It fills me with horror that he was killed in cold blood within a week of his 19th birthday! More than anything, it fills me with anger that the ones responsible for his estrangement from his family and friends are roaming around freely! It fills me with rage that they are enjoying their freedom by caging countless people within the confines of heartbreak and tears!
Guys, on this day, when we celebrate the advent of the son of god, let us also lament the departure of one of god’s children and pray for Abhishek’s soul and for his family to find the strength to drive them through this grief! Let us remember the boy who meant the world to his loved ones. Let us remember the boy who always stood by and had our backs. Let us raise our glasses to the heavens for that beautiful angel who was filled with love!
This one’s for you Abhishek!
Cheers…
Aishwarya Dixit