My Birthdates and Me
Posted : August 29, 2006 at 7:45 pm [IST]
Today is the date that is my official birth date. It is in official records- my school final certificate, election ID card, PAN Card, driving license, and passport. However, sometimes in early seventies we could dig out the Kashi Vishwanath Panchang of the year 1939 from my grandfather’s collections. That was the year mentioned by my grandfather with Hindu ‘tithi’ (lunar date) and month in his brief record. As per the physically available panchang tithi and month as told by my mother, my birth date fell on August 14,1939. I declared this finding proudly in closer circle. One learned punditji (professional priest) from Mithila used to come in those to our place to get his sons employed in HM. Yamuna got a horoscope made based on that. And I started celebrating this new birth date with family and close friends. It is done even today on the same date every year.
However, this year Rajesh and Shephali researched a different birth date in one diary of my grandfather for the year 1955, when they were in our Salt Lake residence on holiday from US. Though I had glanced through the diary, as 1955 was a vitally important year of my life, (I appeared for school final, I got married, and got admitted in Presidency College, Calcutta). I had never come across this noting on the last page. He has written, “The date of birth of Master Indra as recorded in admission register 29.8.39. The actual date of birth is 12.9.40 (as it should be).” Though it hardly matters but I started thinking that almost all the birthdays of many celebrities of yester years, particularly those coming from rural backgrounds that e celebrate might be wrong to some extent in the same manner. But how does it matter once the people accept it? Should I feel happy that I am one year younger?
For me, this date doesn’t mean much. I am sure I am not going to need a birth certificate as Anand had to go for his visa.
- Indra
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