Family members arrange surprise birthday party for octogenarian lady at Public School Road

March 3: It’s been a common trend to celebrate birthday parties for the children. Hardly the grown up adults are seen to organise birthday parties for their aged parents or family members and that too in a grand way. However, such a rare event was organised in a house at Public School Road, Silchar on 2 March, 2022.

It was the 81st birthday of Binapani Roy, wife of Late Priya Ranjan Roy widely famous as Master Babu who was a renowned ‘Jatra Artist’ and a freedom fighter. Her 4 sons and 1 daughter who are all married and having their grown up children decided to give a surprise to their octogenarian mother. It was sudden plan made by them and they started to plan the event keeping it a well-guarded secret from their mother as they decided to give her one of the greatest surprise of her life.

The eldest son of Binapani Roy, Bidhan Roy and his wife Munmun Roy, daughter Ratna Roy and her husband Ajit Saha, three other sons Bikash Roy and his wife Anusuya Roy, Biman Roy and his wife Pushpa Roy and Bibhash Roy along with his wife Soma Roy decided to arrange events close to the heart of their mother on the occasion of her 81st birthday.

But which events they intended to celebrate. Several rounds of meetings were held. Not only the sons and daughter along with their spouse, but even her grandchildren involved themselves wholeheartedly in carefully design the events thinking about the likes of the octogenarian lady. They took care of every minute details and at the same time kept all their preparations covered in suspense.

Finally came the day, 2nd March, 2022, when Binapani Roy turned 81 years. In the morning, her youngest son Bibhash Roy donated blood and kick-started the birthday celebration of his beloved mother. After that, the family members accompanied by the ‘birthday lady’ went to an old age home in Silchar. It was there that her children disclosed that they have gone there to celebrate her 81st birthday. It was indeed an emotional moment for the lady. All of them spent some quality time with the inmates of the old age home. They arranged lunch for them and also honoured them with shawls.

However, octogenarian Binapani Roy at that moment did not know that more surprises awaited her at home. In the evening, the entire house was decorated in blue and white theme. Eleven aged persons who were close to Binapani Roy in the early years were invited to their house. Her joy knew no bounds to find them all together. Among them was also a 101-years-old lady Suborna Prova Dey. The other ladies close to Binapani Roy who came there were Lila Rani Paul, Sondhya Modak, Subrata Bala Roy, Niyati Roy, Lakkhi Rani Shome, Radha Rani Das, Runu Roy, Swapna Roy and Bithika Roy.

A beautiful cake matching the theme was then brought. The cake cutting ceremony was indeed very heart touching for Binapani Roy and tears of joy rolled down her eyes. In presence of around 10 close persons around her own age, sons, daughters, son-in-law, grandchildren and other relatives and well-wishers, Binapani Roy who all these years was just a witness to such cake cutting ceremonies during birthday of her grandchildren was now herself the centre of attraction of the ceremony.

As one after another surprises came up, octogenarian Bina Pani Roy was awestruck. Smile on her face was something priceless for her children who left no stones unturned too see their mother happy. There is an adage which says, “As God could not be present everywhere, so he created mothers. And true, the family was able to add smiles in the face of their God, their adorable mother.

In a world where many aged persons become bound to spend their last days in old age homes, here we had an instance of a family who thought of something unique of caring and loving their mother and celebrating her birthday in a way which would not only be memorable but an inspiration for posterity to respect the family bonds, a basic trait of Indian culture and civilisation.