Shubhkamna Club celebrates the birthday of one of its members, JN Pandey (left), in Patna on October 16. Telegraph picture

A table laden with gifts and a cake adorned with candles go a long way in bringing smiles to the faces of birthday gals and guys, no matter what their age. Three-month-old Shubhkamna Club in the city is proving it and how!

The club members — mostly senior citizens — organise birthday celebrations for each other complete with all the modern trappings of a party that one might associate with their grandkids. Seventy-one-year-old Shyamji Sahay is one of the founding members of the club. The excitement in his voice and enthusiasm for organising the birthday parties belies his age.

He said: “Not only does the birthday boy (the club has male members only) cut a cake, he and other members of the club also wear special ‘birthday’ hats. We sing the ‘Happy Birthday to You’ song as the birthday boy blows the candles and wish him the best in life. We take care of every detail in organising a modern birthday party.”

Since forming the club, which has 55 members now, the young-at-heart have organised four birthday parties at the home of “the man of the hour”. The next is coming up on November 25 — the 74th birthday of retired IAS officer D.K. Sahay.

RRP Sharma, a retired chief engineer in the state water resources department, said the decision to form the club was taken during one of their morning jogging sessions at Ashiana Nagar.

“One of our friends suggested celebrating each other’s birthday in July. None of us had birthday parties when we were children, so we jumped at the idea to do so now. That is how the Shubhkamna Club was formed,” said 76-year-old Sharma, whose first-ever birthday party was organised on July 2.

Sahay said: “The elderly also love to be pampered but society and sometimes they too forget to give them their share of fun. We thought of planning celebrations that can bring smiles on everyone’s face.”

On their plans for D.K. Sahay’s birthday, he added: “We will celebrate his 74th birthday on November 25. We are planning a surprise for him.”

The last party organised by the club was of J.N. Pandey on October 16. Pandey, a former district magistrate of Patna, turned 85.

Recounting his special day, the birthday boy said: “The best part was cutting the cake. My grandchildren always cut a cake on their birthdays but I never got this opportunity. I experienced it for the first time this year and it was great. I am waiting for my next birthday now.”

Ramrendra Kumar Sinha, who turned 77 on September 6, recalled his party last month. “Each of the members gifted me a rose and my son Rajesh also bought me a new set of kurta pyjama. It was my first gift from my son. My 15-year-old grandson, Rishabh, took photographs of the party and uploaded them on a social networking site,” he said.