The 31st December of 2017

It was the last day of the year. There was a programme in our parish church at Taljhari. It was a special programme marking the end of the year 2017 and also there were about 50 young girls and 50 young boys taking their first communion. Most of the families went to attend the programme but my family had a different plan.

My father has always been an innovative man regarding planning events. Have you ever thought of a picnic on 31st of December instead of picnic in a New year day or after that? My father did plan and it was a resounding success. On that day, all the family members were there my mom, my dad, Rosi, Sushma, Manu, my uncle, my aunt, my cousins-Sanju and Betty, our pet dog-Karu and I. My grandpa and grandma who died in 2014 might have been there in their celestial form, blessing us.

We all woke up enthusiastically. Female members got ready with the 'kitchen materials ' and the male members got ready with the other packings. After everything was done at home we set out towards the nearby river-'Murga gada'. There carpets were spread, materials were unpacked, two stone fireplaces were made as our ancestors used to do and then we children began to gather firewood. Both the parents were on holiday. Today it only the children who were to work . They just sat on the carpet seeing us labour. How happy they looked seeing us do things that children ought to learn!

All were together. Lots of fun. A number of selfies. Chicken was wonderfully prepared. All thanks to Sanju and Rosi who were the most active ones at the fireplace. We all had a sumptuous lunch with the nature around us. How rare do these occasions come. The happiness of the parents could not remain concealed. They expressed their happiness both in words and in their faces. The last event was the evaluation of the year 2017 and the aims and goals to achieved in the year 2018. Grandpa and Grandma were the major missings and may be they were the happiest people in heaven that day on seeing the wonderful family get together.