A surprise baby shower day!

Everybody in this world loves a surprise once in a while, and what better when your most loved ones give that surprise to you when you least expect them to. The unexpected joy compounded with the knowledge that so many people wish well for you is such a great feeling.


 The plan: Couple of weeks ago, Madhavi Angara garu and Annu Ganti garu (close family friends to Girija and me) called me and asked me about plans for a baby shower for Girija. As we had not planned anything, I was not sure about it. We had been thinking that we would wait for Girija's mom to come and then have a traditional baby shower in the ninth month of her pregnancy. But, deep down somewhere I knew that she was feeling lonely and was missing out on the celebrations associated with a pregnant lady in the seventh month. I therefore went ahead with their idea of organizing a surprise baby shower for her.


We went ahead full steam, I spoke to them on the phone from office, sent them mails from my office address, and kept things as discrete as possible. I called up all common friends (who became the invitees) and then planned to have the baby shower on Saturday April 10th 2010. I was excited and terrified at the same time because I did not know how Girija would react if she got to know that we were planning this event. It got to my head so much that I could not sleep properly on Friday night.


Sai and Neelima (Girija's cousins who stay close to our place in Chicago), were accomplices in this mischief surprise event too. They jumped up on the idea of this surprise and were awesome in hiding it. They played along nicely and kept the secret till the end. It helps so much to have close family members who really care for you and we can only thank our stars for sending such angels around us.


The trick: I had to think too hard to convince Girija with a genuine sounding plan - one that she could not say 'no' to, and one that she would not doubt. After a lot of thought and discussion with Madhavi garu, I told Girija that we were being invited to a friend's house for a lunch party as they had recently finished the construction and decoration of their house's basement. I also made up the story that Sai & Neelu would give us a ride to Aurora as they were going to the temple the same day. To add a little more weight around it, I told her that it would be a nice occasion to meet up the Angara family, who would then go away on a vacation to India and wont be around during the birth of our baby. She agreed to it initially, but was hesitant to come on Saturday as she did not sleep well on Friday night. I somehow persuaded her to come along and she half-heartedly got dressed. I held on to my nerves till we reached Annu garu's house.


The execution: As we reached Annu garu's house, I saw Suneel Muppana's car following behind our car and was scared that Girija might find out earlier than I thought. However, she was perplexed and did not know what was happening around her. And as we rang the bell to their house and the door opened, there was a chorus "S U R P R I S E ! ! !" from the people inside. For a minute, Girija could not comprehend what was going on and then it struck her that we were all gathered there for her baby shower party. The look on her face at that moment was more than enough to tell the tale and I sighed a huge sigh of relief on a successful surprise.


The arrangements were as elaborate as one would expect at a great party and I was overwhelmed by the caring touches given to it. I loved the fact that everything was thought out and planned so well. Madhavi and Annu garu prepared for the event till 3 am the previous night and spent the time in cooking (yummy to the tummy pulihora, perugu vadas, vankaya kura, carrot beans kura with grated coconut, payasam, chalividi, mavidikaya pappu, sambar, chutney, ooru mirapakaayalu), making goody bags, decorations, cleaning and organizing all other stuff! So much effort, and a lot more care and affection. Having organized events various events myself, I know how much hard work goes in to it. Sometimes, even parents don't do that much for their own kids.


The surprise will remain one of the best that I would have ever pulled off on anyone and it was even more special because it was on Girija. While I am totally thankful to Madhavi garu, Annu garu for being so nice and affectionate and caring to make the day so memorable for both of us, I cannot really weigh down the contribution of all our other good friends who helped make this day so sweet. The entire party was so enjoyable and we never felt for a moment that we were this distant from home.


We were exhausted, more from the celebrations and the overwhelming emotions than anything else, and when we headed out from the party in the evening, we were still lost in the thoughts of the party and the way it was organized. I could see that little smile in the corner of Girija's face still in tact, despite her physical exhaustion too. To say that she loved it would have been an understatement. I could see that despite her shyness at all the attention, she was enjoying her moment of celebration.

Photos of the baby shower

Scene 2: Girija thought that we were done for the day with surprises. But little did she know that there was another surprise waiting for her. Rama - one of her closest friends in town (even literally), had invited us over for a small get together of friends that included a game night as well. It was just an occasion to meet up with a new bunch of friends (Gayatri and Pradeep Sadhu) and have some fun together. Sai and Neelima were invited as well, but Girija did not know.


Tired, exhausted and late from the first party, we headed straight to Rama's house. Girija requested Sai/ Neelima to drop us off at their place and they obliged without hesitation. Sai and I had a quiet chuckle at that and gave a condescending smile. When we got off the car, I asked Sai and Neelu to come upstairs to get introduced to Rama and Ramesh and then leave. Girija was perplexed again as she could not understand why I did that. It was only when she entered the house that she got to know that we were celebrating the coming of a new one. She was filled with joy once more and despite the physical exhaustion, she continued to be in a land of surprises the rest of the evening.


Rama and Ramesh brought a beautiful cake for her and had decorated the wall of their living room. It was so sweet of them to think of such things that bring so much joy. Rama and Ramesh are so adorable that they have become more of an elder brother and sister to us than friends and it was evident in the way they thought about these things. It was therefore understandable that Girija expected them to be there in the morning party too, but had that happened, she would not have had a surprise in the evening.We had sumptuous food (again yummy to the tummy cauliflower manchurian, cabbage kura, vankaya kura, pappu pulusu and appadams)! We were so exhausted by then that we gave the gaming a skip. We decided that we would come back again another day.While the evening get together was not as big as the one in the morning, the hearts behind the event were equally as big, no doubt.

Photos of the second baby shower

Sai, Neelima and Inesh, over the last couple of years have become so close to us that people naturally ask Sai and me if we are brothers. They accompanied us all day long and helped to keep this a tight suspense! It must have been a tiring day for them too, but not at one moment did they express it. I owe it to them too for seeing us through a lovely day.


It is so good to see how people can make your day when you least expect them to. And 'o boy', they did in splendid fashion that it will remain etched in our memories for eternity!