A Birthday Under a Sky Full of Stars

- Rudra tied a black cloth around his mother’s eyes so she couldn’t see where they were. She only knew that it was her birthday, but everyone was pretending to have forgotten it. 

- Rudra Joshi

It was a breezy and warm morning in the busy village of Shela, Ahmedabad. Rudra’s mother, Khushbu, was making tea for everyone. Rudra’s father, Pushpak, was mending Hriday’s (Rudra’s little brother) tractor. His grandmother was in the prayer room, praying to God. Rudra was quietly reading the newspaper when he suddenly noticed an advertisement about a new place in Ladakh.

Rudra’s mother had always wanted to go to Ladakh. She often told him, “When you are eligible to ride a bike, you will have to take me to Ladakh.”

The name of the new place was Hanle Village. The newspaper shared this information:

Hanle was a quiet village tucked high in the cold desert of Ladakh. When evening came, the houses dimmed their lights, and by 11 o’clock the power went off, leaving the land wrapped in silence. Above, the sky burst open with countless stars, so clear it felt like the universe was leaning closer. In Hanle, nights were not dark—they were glowing with infinity.

Rudra had always been interested in space. After a few days, he remembered that his mother’s birthday was coming up on 24 June, 2026. He decided to keep the information about Hanle Village a secret and told only his father so they could plan everything properly.

There was one more reason Rudra wanted to go. About seven months ago, his mother had told him that during an evening walk she had seen shooting stars in the sky. Rudra felt dismayed because at that time he had been lazily reading a book at home, while his mother was lucky enough to see the shooting stars.

On 22 June, 2026, his father told the whole family—and even some relatives—that they were planning a trip. Surprisingly, many relatives decided to join. However, his father told Rudra’s mother only that they were going somewhere special, without revealing the destination.

At night, around 10:00 PM, Rudra’s family and their relatives took off in their private airplane. It was a wonderful voyage. Rudra’s mother had packed homemade Gujarati snacks like thepla and chanki, and the relatives had brought juices and other snacks for everyone.

Just as they were about to land at the airstrip of Hanle Village, Rudra tied a black cloth around his mother’s eyes so she couldn’t see where they were. She only knew that it was her birthday, but everyone was pretending to have forgotten it. In fact, Rudra had asked everyone to act as if they didn’t remember the date at all.

They arrived at their hotel, The Sky Abode, Hanle. They had neighboring rooms numbered 201, 202, 203, 204, and 205. The family was led into a hall that was fully decorated for Rudra’s mother’s birthday. The black cloth was still tied around her eyes. The moment they entered, Hriday removed it, revealing the beautifully decorated hall. Everyone shouted with joy. They celebrated till 2:30 AM—cutting the cake, eating delicious food, and discussing plans for the next three days.

On the first day, they visited a place where the Changpa tribe lived. Rudra had packed a special notebook that could automatically write short descriptions of what people were saying. The tribal people shared their life experiences—how they lived in the forests, fulfilled their daily needs, and hunted and gathered food.

The next day, they visited a tribal school where many children studied. It was very different from Rudra’s school. His school was noisy and talkative, but this one was calm and silent. The teachers were kind and not strict. While Rudra was in the washroom, a teacher noticed him, and later he went into a classroom pretending to be a new student from a faraway land. His mother also learned many new things. She told Rudra that her favorite topic was when a teacher explained how to identify the difference between meteors and asteroids.

The last day of the trip felt very sad. Rudra’s mother did not want to leave the village. Every night, she had watched the stars, clicked many photographs, and read books about space. Rudra promised her that they would return someday and stay for even more days.

They finally went back to the airstrip and, after 19 hours of travel, reached home. It was truly a wonderful journey—one they would always remember.