And I finally turned forty.

Yesterday. Let me take myself to a corner and weep my heart out. No seriously, I hit forty. When I was 19, I had thought forty was a good age to die. You were still young enough to make a decent looking corpse and old enough to have done all the things you should have done by the time you hit forty.
Or so I thought. Obviously I didn’t think too deeply back then. Call it the arrogance of youth. Or whatever. But I hit official forty, four oh, four completed decades on this planet and I’m damned if I’m going to feel forty. I feel, in my head, like I ought to be asked for a valid id when I go to a pub. Of course, that would be pushing it a bit too much, but in my head that’s where I am, if I ignore the hulking seven year old telling me to act my age.
So what does turning forty feel like. No, the face hasn’t collapsed on me overnight into a maze of wrinkles. The knees haven’t given way yet. I still giggle over crushes, and go ballistic over trends I can barely fit my expansive self into. I read sappy Twilight series novels and get lost in a world of stalkerish vampire lovers, only to emerge and bang myself on the head wondering what was I smoking. I need to grow up. Turning forty hasn’t changed that.
So here’s what forty should be like. As clicked by the doting son yesterday. Sort of sums up my mood right now.

Am so going to make this my best decade ever. And yes, I need to change the header of the blog.

About Kiran Manral

Kiran Manral is a writer and major social media influencer. After quitting her full-time journalist’s job when her son was born, Kiran became a mommy blogger on the internet, with a remarkably original voice. She was a journalist at The Asian Age, The Times of India, features editor Cosmopolitan, India Cultural Lead and Trend spotter at Gartner Iconoculture US, Senior Consultant at Vector Insights, Ideas Editor, SheThePeople.TV. Kiran is currently a celebrated author and an independent research and media consultant. She was shortlisted for the Femina Women Awards for Literary Contribution in 2017. The Indian Council of UN Relations (ICUNR) supported by the Ministry of Women and Children, Govt of India, awarded her the International Women’s Day Award 2018 for excellence in the field of writing. In 2021 she was awarded the Womennovator 1000 Women of Asia award. In 2022, she was named amongst the 75 Iconic Indian women in STEAM by Red Dot Foundation and Beyond Black, in collaboration with the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor, Government of India, and British High Commission, New Delhi. Her novella, Saving Maya, was long-listed for the 2018 Saboteur Award, supported by the Arts Council of England in the UK. Her novels 'The Face At the Window’ and ‘Missing, Presumed Dead were both long-listed for Jio MAMI Word to Screen, and ‘The Face at the Window’ was showcased at the South Asian Film Festival 2019. The Kitty Party Murder was shortlisted for the Popular Choice award at the 2021 JK Papers TOI AutHER awards. Her other books include The Reluctant Detective, Once Upon A Crush, All Aboard, Karmic Kids-The Story of Parenting Nobody Told You, A Boy’s Guide to Growing Up, True Love Stories, 13 Steps to Bloody Good Parenting, Raising Kids with Hope and Wonder in Times of a Pandemic and Climate Change, More Things in Heaven and Earth and Rising: 30 Women Who Changed India. She also has published short stories in various magazines, in acclaimed anthologies like Have A Safe Journey, Boo, The Best Asian Speculative Fiction 2018, Grandpa’s Tales, Magical Women and City of Screams. Kiran lives in Mumbai with her family. Social media handles Twitter: https://twitter.com/KiranManral Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiranmanral/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KiranManralAuthorPage Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiranmanral/
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55 Responses to And I finally turned forty.

  1. anonymous says:

    looking lovely at 40..and remember age is just a number. Belated wishes.

    Like

  2. Anita Menon says:

    Wishing you a wonderful year of fantastic writing and a beautiful life ahead.

    Forty or not,you are a stunner.

    Like

  3. R's Mom says:

    Wishing you a super duper happy belated birthday…and okie even if you dont believe it – you dont look forty AT ALL!

    heres to wishing you many more rocking years with the 7 and growing year old 🙂

    PS did Krish take that photo? I loved it

    Like

  4. Sangitha says:

    Know what you means. Mine is coming up too.

    Happy birthday!

    Like

  5. ranjanis says:

    Rock the 40’s, I say, as only you can!

    Like

  6. Divs says:

    You look stunning Kiran! And a happy birthday btw. You absolutely do not look 40 from any angle. You are only as old as you believe yourself to be…remember?

    Like

  7. Vanshika-Neelam Amarnani says:

    Hi kiran wish u a belated happy birthday n trust me u look fab for forty 😉 have a gr8 year ahead

    Like

  8. neha says:

    Oh God u look so stunning for forty ! Touchwood and god bless !!!

    Like

  9. aneela z says:

    From toilet training to adult diapers…yeh dosti hum nahi todeyngey..Promise?

    Like

  10. j's mom says:

    Hey Kiran,
    Happy b’day u gorgeous lady. Well i hav a lot to say. I got introduced to mummy bloggng whn i’s expectng my son n Parul’s ws the 1st one i read. Hav caught up Y, itchy, 2 a’s mom,aneela, newmumontheblock,chandni(nt a mummy blogger bt still,she hangs arnd in this circuit) n othr such biggies by going thru thr archives. YOUR blogs were dauntng…2 actv blogs n 1 mor tht finds mention here n thr…i mean imagine going thru the archives..bt finally found the courage to do so…n am i hooked? Line n sinker…trust me. M currently in 2009 archive of this blog n the othr one is untouched..today i dozed off whn this blog n the owner wer 39 n woke to the forty chimes…gud enuff reason to delurk no? Lovng ur humour n honesty in this blog…humour lyk ”scarng the worm out of the fish” n sumthng on the lines of ”fat lady yellng at thm(dogs) tht she hs no food on her person”…n honesty- weight issues,hairline issues(though the pic speaks othrwise), nose hair issues…oh tht makes it brutal honesty…conti

    Like

  11. j's mom says:

    Hey Kiran,
    Happy b’day u gorgeous lady. Well i hav a lot to say. I got introduced to mummy bloggng whn i’s expectng my son n Parul’s ws the 1st one i read. Hav caught up Y, itchy,rohini, 2 a’s mom,aneela, newmumontheblock,chandni(nt a mummy blogger bt still,she hangs arnd in this circuit) n othr such biggies by going thru thr archives. YOUR blogs were dauntng…2 actv blogs n 1 mor tht finds mention here n thr…i mean imagine going thru the archives..bt finally found the courage to do so…n am i hooked? Line n sinker…trust me. M currently in 2009 archive of this blog n the othr one is untouched..today i dozed off whn this blog n the owner wer 39 n woke to the forty chimes…gud enuff reason to delurk no? Lovng ur humour n honesty in this blog…humour lyk ”scarng the worm out of the fish” n sumthng on the lines of ”fat lady yellng at thm(dogs) tht she hs no food on her person”…n honesty- weight issues,hairline issues(though the pic speaks othrwise), nose hair issues…oh tht makes it brutal honesty…conti

    Like

  12. Pallavi says:

    My soul-sistah who shares her b’day with me is 40, a perfect 10 yrs older than me. But she’s way more enthu and lean and on-top-of-everything than I am. Some women just rock, whatever age they may be. You’re one of them! Happy 40s, Kiran 🙂

    Like

  13. shilpa says:

    Super super! You dont look a day over 25….really! Happy Birthday!

    Like

  14. j's mom says:

    …conti -n the biggest buzz word…SHOPPNG…woo hoo…n whn bags n shoppng cm up in the same post,it becomes my fav. nxt tym rnd m nt steppng in mumbai wthout an email(”in triplicates” q un q) frm u gvng details of all hole in the wall shoppng n food destinations…n no sendng a google map of inorbit’s location will nt do. yeah m demandng like tht. Feel all connected aftr going thru ur blog archives frm last one week n noddng till i feel dizzy…long comment i knw…shud hav emailed u insted…* sheepish grin*

    so nw going bak to the archives…

    Like

  15. simrand says:

    Happy Yappy Birthday Kiran!! Echoing other sentiments above – you don’t look 40 at all!!! 🙂 Have many more wonderful birthdays ahead! BTW I just turned a year older too on June 20th 🙂 we share the birthday month!

    Like

  16. What noone asks u for a valid photo ID??? Are they nuts…u look so young…Happy Birthday Lady K…Here’s wishing u a fantastic next decade!

    Like

  17. mayG says:

    😀 oh you’re SOOOO going to rock the forties lady K!
    Happy birthday again!
    xoxo

    Like

  18. sj says:

    Happy birthday belated. Wow you do look good and young I might add. I am not sure why we women are always fixated on our age like it’s the end of the world. I dreaded turning 30 and I have a few more years till the big 40…but nothing changed for me once I hit 30 and I doubt very much that it will when I hit 40.

    Like

  19. Serendipity says:

    Happy birthday Kiran!! 🙂

    Like

  20. sukanya says:

    Happy 40th, lovely photo taken by your hulking son.
    I enter the big four oh in two months. I am looking forward to it. after all 40’s is the new 20’s, right?

    Like

  21. Sands says:

    Rock the 40s K! Wishing you many many more happy decades on this planet 🙂 I can totally relate what with mine coming up early next year!!

    Like

  22. Mayborngemini says:

    Happy Birthday!!!!! Have a great year!!!!

    Like

  23. Violet says:

    Wish you a belated happy birthday. You look absolutely gorgeous in the pic!

    Like

  24. Sujatha Ramesh says:

    Dear Kiran,

    Happy Birthday… who would say you are 40 looking at the picture?

    Like

  25. Gigi says:

    You look great! Happy Birthday..

    Like

  26. Happy Birthday! After seeing that pic of yours, I am gonna repeat what someone said earlier, ‘you are surely gonna rock the forties!’

    Like

  27. Happy Birthday Kiran !!! Wishing you the very best …

    And that pic is a recent one ???? Really ??? You look great …

    Like

  28. Kanchan says:

    Happy Birthday Kiran !! Reading Twilight and other teenage stuff is what keeps us young (among other things 😛 ). So keep at it and send my reccos our way.

    Like

  29. sourcreme says:

    You are fabulous at forty. Would love to look like you when i hit that milestone. Hope you had a great day. Happy belated B’day. 🙂

    Like

  30. Gymnast says:

    Happy Birthday Kiran!

    You dont a day over 25 , trust me!

    Like

  31. soulmate says:

    Hope you had a good one.. Wish you many more to come.. You dont look your age even a bit.. so enjoy, drink, dance and make merry.. 🙂

    Like

  32. Wishing you a fab Forty! 🙂 Went through the same thoughts and ya nothings changed…its all in the mind…mebe someday it’ll catch up, the getting old thing..but that aint coming soon!! 😉

    vaidegi j

    Like

  33. justanothermommy says:

    Happy budday Kiran. “Age is just a number” – for a reason.

    Like

  34. bumped into ur blog at blogaddA. and i loved it- u’re aweome at 40, hope i will be too- just when i thought life was over!

    Like

  35. Meira says:

    You look fantastic! And you rock! So thats a pretty great combination 🙂
    Bestest wishes!

    Like

  36. KD says:

    Belated birthday wishes. You look fab at 40.

    I wanted to comment on your posts earlier as well but I was unable to comment. Did you change something on the site cos now I am able to comment.

    Like

  37. Anjali says:

    Oh wow, you look super fabulous, I wish I could anything close to that when I’m 40, I seriously thought that was your picture from when you were 19 !!! Happy belated birthday !!

    Like

  38. Sunita says:

    Happy belated birthday Kiran.
    Here’s a Greek saying that suits you ‘The heart that loves is always young’.

    Like

  39. Jyothy says:

    Belated happy b’day Kiran!
    Fabulous at forty -that’s you!

    love love love your humor – Regular reader.
    Jyothy.

    Like

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