Akank was invited to attend a 11th birthday party, two days after she met the 11 year old. She was apprehensive in the beginning about attending the party where she knew not many people but eventually she went. Unlike birthday parties in India, which typically was a rushed 3 hour affair, the party began at 12 noon and went on till the wee hours of the night. It was unusual for us and we were very uncomfortable with Akank being away at a birthday party for over 6 hours. I guess Akank was the first guest to leave that day. At 6 in the evening when I went to fetch Akank, the birthday cake had not even been cut! Later I was told that there was a session in the pool, games, talent show and loads of running around and playing till such time.
Even though Akank did stay on till late, she did seem keen to leave when she saw me arrive to pick her up. It turned out that the birthday girl had not given Akank any attention at all and she was left to fend for herself and make new acquaintances. The upside was, Akank got to meet many other children from the condo neighborhood.
Akank was not keen to share much about the day with us but she did win a XL sized Cadbury bar for having sung ‘The call” by the Backstreet Boys for the talent show.
