Let's make this birthday one to remember.

50 years old (Born on June 16, 1974)

Happy Birthday, Rajiv Joseph! May your day be as wildly imaginative and delightfully unpredictable as a Bengal tiger roaming freely through the Baghdad Zoo. Your Pulitzer Prize-nominated masterpiece continues to captivate audiences worldwide—proving once again that you truly know how to tame words into unforgettable stories.

From earning five Backstage Garland Awards for "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo" to being honored as a USA Rockefeller Fellow, you've crafted narratives with humor, depth, and brilliance. Here's hoping this birthday brings inspiration (and cake!) worthy of another standing ovation—or perhaps even an encore from one particularly philosophical feline!