My birthday memories with my mother

 Today is my birthday. But it is not just my birthday—it is also my parents' wedding anniversary.

For my mother, this day was always very special. Since we never knew her exact birth date, we couldn't celebrate her birthday. So June 3 became an even more important day in our family because it was both her wedding day and my birthday.

One thing I always looked forward to was Paasi Paruppu Payasam. She would make it every year. In those days, I was almost a vegetarian. As a child, I didn't like chicken, I hated mutton, and other non-vegetarian foods. Vegetarian food was what I enjoyed the most.

Sometimes she would also make my favorite butter beans dish. There was a particular variety that we used to get in Tuticorin that tasted very different from the ones available in Chennai. I don't think I have tasted that variety since her passing. It has been well over a decade, and I don't even know where to find it anymore.

Usually, after school, my mother and I would visit a nearby temple together and then return home. She often told me that I was born three years after her marriage and that she had visited many temples praying for a child before I was born.

One thing I clearly remember is asking her what dress I should wear. Every single time, she refused to choose for me. Whether it was clothes, hairstyle, food, or anything else, she would always say, "You should choose for yourself. It is your life and your choice."

Then she would jokingly add, "But for your marriage, I will choose the girl."

There was only one exception. I still remember it clearly. I was probably in seventh or eighth standard. She had bought me a pure white kurta kind of dress kind of North Indian style,made from a very light fabric. I have always preferred thick fabrics, even from childhood, and I didn't want to wear it at all.

But that year, she was unusually determined. She kept asking me again and again to wear it for my birthday. Finally, I agreed, but only for an hour or two. After that birthday, I never wore that dress again.

Today, those memories feel like they happened yesterday. Yet when I think about it, years have passed.

I wanted to share these memories because today was one of the happiest days in my mother's life. June 3 was her wedding day, and later it became my birthday too.

Whenever this day comes,I think about her, our temple visits, the payasam she made, the choices she encouraged me to make for myself, and all the small moments that made this day special.