(Dec 31, 11:40pm)

31st December this time was quite a contrast.. as I said, I was strolling around in CP.. having food.. watching people revel in merriment..

Eearlier, these were silent closed door nights in Patna... in the 1990s...

People celebrated in home... streets were empty.. and it would be very cold, anyway..

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Ours would be beautiful experience.. since 1st is my birthday, mom would be cooking till very late in the night.. preparing snacks and other things for the party the day after..

We would be watching TV.. and mom would ask us to taste the food... sweets...

There was something called Gits.. it was a kind of flour.. you had to make a dough and prepare balls.. you fried them and then dipped them in sugar syrup.. Your Gulab jamun was ready..

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She'd ask us to taste the kabli chana too.. gulab jamun and kabli chana, Mum always prepared on my birthdays..

Then bread rolls... Chicken would be marinated and kept in the refrigerator... funny, but sometimes I would be tempted to taste the uncooked chicken too..

But, I never dared... Muma would not encourage such things..

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Earlier in the day, we would go out finishing the marketing.. and personally inviting the family friends..

We had only one cake shop then.. it was called Cake Palace.. we'd go there too.. and while the cake was getting prepared, Muma would get us pastries..

We hated waiting.. but the pastries would interest us..

XXX