Have you ever been to a 1st birthday party? In Bombay, particularly when there is a link to the film industry, these seem to be very much ADULT parties!
My 1st introduction to what I’ll call the “1st birthday phenomenon” was years ago at the Spastic Society (now known as ADAPT – Able Disabled All People Together) in Bandra Reclamation.
The father was the director of the film Leela and it was his pride and joy’s birthday! Was the little guy to be seen? Well… he did make a sleepy appearance for a short while but then retired. Which was perfectly fine because this was very much an adult bash – brilliant fun full of all sorts of interesting characters.
Fast forward more than a decade later and I popped into another 1st birthday celebration in Bandra during my ‘bonus time.‘ Bereft of my partner who was busy with a film shoot in Goa, I landed up by my lonesome wondering what to expect.
Cake cut, signal for “adult” time!
The princess of the evening did an admirable job of smiling, chortling, being oohed and aahed at, tossed giggling into the air. In the earlier part of the evening there were puppets, games and other activities for the little ones. However after the cake, the mood clearly shifted from being a “general” admission party to time “parental guidance” at a minimum… it was clearly time for the adults to pick up the pace and strut their stuff.
Shots made the rounds along with the snacks, casting agents rubbed shoulders with actors, much merry industry networking took place. Now… lest I sound cynical, the parents of the enchanting birthday belle are truly lovely people and fully appreciated the irony that their gal wouldn’t remember her 1st birthday at all.
The adults clearly enjoyed the babes bash! And I’ll admit, I was no exception…
With Irrfan Khan, one of the many adult celebrants!
No these weren’t wild nights of debauchery however both were parties as much (or more) for the full-grown celebrants rather than the tiny tots.
Have you been to any “adult” baby birthday’s lately – Bollywood linked or otherwise? Or is this phenomenon unique to Bombay?
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I avoid parties as much as I can, and if there’s ANY chance of a human under 21 making an appearance… FORGET IT!
Haha! That used to be my take on things until was introduced to these Bollywood baby birthday bashes – which can really be quite fun!
Well… I guess at least, since the little blighter’s too young to claim his/her share, there’d be more cake for me 😉
Haha! Good point! Trust it to all come down to the ‘cake’ with you! 🙂
I have been to several where the child is an excuse for a party. They will never remember – it’s like taking a 1 year old to Disney World. You’re going because the parents want to go. As long as people admit it – I think there is no problem with it.
Quite true! In this case, the parents were fully aware this was just a good excuse to have a nice gathering. No different with my 1st Bombay “adult” baby birthday. 🙂