completion of circle

The smell of vanilla cake and the melting candles had mixed up with the smell of roses and tulips. And had turned into a fragrance as unique as the occasion itself was… As he cut the cake, the sound of clapping which initially seemed to be coming from some distant place became louder and clearer to him…
He looked up wearily and saw her standing next to him and clapping hesitantly.. Wrapped in a pastel pink sari, she was standing with a stiff posture which told him that she was equally uncomfortable here as he was… and so was equally quiet..
Apart from her, he could see two handsome people clapping incessantly.. Their faces were glowing with hope and energy…their smiles reflecting a strange bliss …
He held the hands of the beautiful lady..The hands which never lost their warmth and softness.. He looked at her, wrapped in that pastel pink sari , with her subtle shyness and discomfort , she was still managing to keep herself standing in front of those flash camera lights.. Knowing her, he knew that she was having a difficult time..
When he held her hands, she came close to him.. She still is the same timid girl who needed him to save herself from all that was beyond her small, little comfort zone..
He looked at her and realized that though over the years her beauty has faded but her grace has increased.. He looked at her hands.. The finely filed long nails had disappeared and were replaced by comfortable looking pearl shaped cut.. the skin of fingers had loosened and was becoming softer than they ever were.. And the little shivering of hands told that she got more tired in lesser time than she ever did..
On that night of lights and candles, food and people, music and celebration he was more dreamy and lost then he ever was.. Nostalgia was taking over him …
From a makeshift hut in the village to a single room settlement in the town.. From a two bedroom rented flat to a two storey bungalow.. From a child of economically tight family to a student surviving on his small occasional earnings.. From a struggling new shop attendant to a successful businessman.. From a possessive, jealous husband to a friendly, supportive life partner.. From a strict disciplinary family head to an understanding loving father.. From a restless and insecure young boy to a content and peaceful old man..
He thought about the gone years. Years that deprived him and years that bestowed on him. He thought about the gone people. People who gave him and people who took away from him.. He thought about gone emotions. Emotions which strengthened him and emotions which weakened him..
There were moments when he complained about life`s stinginess.. and then, there were moments when he boasted about life`s bounty.. now looking back at time, life looked just to him.. His journey was an uphill chase but at the end of it , he is standing at top..
He thought this day as completion of the circle of his life.. He is SIXTY today…
He held the hands of his wife tightly and walked towards the bedroom, leaving his two children behind to celebrate his life…two loving and proud offspring reflecting his energy and his wife’s grace …And as he stepped into the bedroom ,he felt more accomplished then he ever felt…।