Whenever we children at the house at Kelaniya wish to discuss a VIM - a very important matter, we gather under the nut-meg tree.

So here we are this morning racking our brains about what we are going to give grandmother whose birthday is round the corner. She loves pretty things.

Sometimes I watch her standing in front of her savandara-scented almirah with the ebony knobs. She takes out cloth after cloth of coloured silk; pretty velvet evening bags and a porcupine-quill jewellery case. "I’d like her to have a length of red silk for a cloth and a red betel bag to go with it, from us," I tell Ruby and my brothers, Shirley and Chubby.

"What does she want another cloth for? She’s got dozens of them already. Let’s give her a new brass pan for her oil-cakes and aasme. The old one is too small and quite worn out," say Shirley, with Chubby echoing him.

After much arguing, we decide to give her a cloth, a betel bag and a large brass pan. Incidentally, a betel bag is not a bag in which betel is stored. It is a stylish small embroidered pouch bag, with colourful cords which open and close it and it is used as an evening access by well-dressed women.

These bags became high fashion at Colombo’s cocktail parties and other festive occasions in the nineteen sixties. They adorned the fashion pages of local newspapers, especially the mirror worked bags that had come from India. The cloth and jacket, too, with variations, was accepted party attire for women at that time.

Aunty Annie and Dot very kindly sew a beautiful betel bag with scraps of coloured silk and embroidered it with flowers.

We are wondering how we are to get the other gifts when we see Uncle Bennie coming towards us. "Someone mentioned grandmother’s birthday the other day. What exactly do you wish to give her?"

We tell him. He smiles. "What sort of cloth." — We have heard of brocades. We don’t know what it is. But it sounds so grand that we shout the word out loud.

Dot says that brocade has gold light on it. Aunty Annie and Dot go to Colombo to bring the cloth and the pan. "If you need anything else just let me know," says Uncle Bennie.

Newton and Percy have been co-opted to decorate the school house with balloons, streamers and greenery from the garden. They will also present an item in the entertainment of music, song and dance that has been planned by us.

Ruby and I have written a special birthday song to grandmother. When Newton and Percy hear us ending the verse with: "Because you’re a beautiful girl," during the rehearsal, they shriek with laughter.

"Grandmother is a lady, not a girl," they choke. "You keep quiet. The word ‘lady’ won’t rhyme with the word ‘twirl’, do you understand?" we ask. Another shriek from them: "What’s twirl?" they ask? "Wait and see," we say. "That’s your item."

The presentation of gifts to grandmother is to take place in the school, following the entertainment, which will start after we have had our dinner at the house. The brocade cloth has been wrapped by us and left at the back of the stage, which is raised by a single step from the hall. At eight o’clock large hurricane lanterns light up the stage and the hall.

We enter it before the guests come in and take a last look before the show. The school house looks splendid with its decorations.

But what’s this? A screen has been brought in from one of the rooms in the house. Our brocade cloth has been thrown over it. It’s placed in front of the stage. We can’t believe our eyes.

"After we had done the hall so nicely we realized that there was something missing - a curtain" says Newton. We scream, "Why didn’t you ask us?" "You can’t have a show like this without a curtain. So we thought we’d put grandmother’s cloth on a screen and let it be like a curtain, just for the opening. We’ll move it to a side later."

We are very angry but have no time for a quarrel, grandfather and grandmother are at the door. She accepts a pretty bunch of flowers and the betel bag from Irene. We lead them to their seats in the front row. Near them we have a seat for the Rev. J. W. Perera.

The entertainment will begin but not before he announces a hymn. We have placed hymn books on the seats. Everybody stands and we sing:

"Now thank we all our God,

With heart and hands and vices

Who wondrous things hath done,

In whom His world rejoices.

Who from our mother’s arms.

Hath blessed us on our way,

With countless gifts of love,

And still is ours today........"

At the close of the hymn, the Rev. Perera offers a prayer of blessing and returns to his seat. Among the friends and relations in the hall, I see Uncle Vinnie and Aunty Lily and two of their children, Justin and Daisy.

Dot gets on to our Birthday song to the tune of "Oh dear what can the matter be? Johnny’s so long at the Fair." She plays it spiritedly and we sing the two verses, with the two teenage jokers joining in the singing.

1. "Grandona, this is your birthday,

Round you we whirl and we twirl

With present and blessings and wishes and kisses,

Because you’re a beautiful girl.

2. You’re wearing a cloth of pretty pink spun silk

A chain round your neck with a small shining pearl,

We bring you our blessings and presents and kisses,

Because you’re a beautiful girl."

Loud clapping from the hall and a few titters on stage, which we ignore. A duet next. The Blue Danube - with Dot on organ and Sonny on violin.

Shirley and Chubby follow with three nursery rhymes in song: ‘Baa, baa black sheep;’ ‘Goosey, goosey garden’ and ‘Oranges and Lemons.’ Then Newton and Percy take the floor with a dance to the rhythem and music of ‘Ain’t she sweet?’ After the applause and laughter, at our request, Sonny plays three songs about the moon, which are all the rage at the time, on his violin. ‘Moonlight and Roses,’ ‘Blue moon’ and ‘Moonlight Bay,’

Shirley and Chubby present their copper pan, tied on the two handles with pink ribbons, to grandmother, who kisses them both. The screen, meanwhile, which has been moved from the front of the stage to the left of it by Newton and Percy, at opening time, has stayed there the whole evening. They announce. "The girls will present their gift to grandmother. It has been on show for all to admire." They whip it off the screen, fold it and hand it to us. Ruby and I present it to a delighted grandmother, who puts her arms round both of us. Grandfather thanks all1 on her behalf.

Dot starts on a medley of popular songs: ‘Oh Susannah’ ‘Polly Wolly Doodle’ ‘Keep the Home Fires Burning’ and It Thap, hap happy day’s. The guests come upto great grandmother, before the cake and other goodies come in.
Alfreda de Silva.