Miracles and Memories – Part Deux

Do you like your name? Have you always wondered how your parents finally decided to name you what they eventually did? What’s going on in my house right now is hilarious, and I wonder if every family goes through the same nightmare.

Apparently it’s not so common to use common names now. Rohit, Rahul, Karan are a strict no- no. After a few years, a school register will get a complete makeover and read names like Angad, Shlok, Vidit, Rajveer, and names that make you go back centuries. Some people have even resorted to the likes of Amelia and Alyssa because, you know, Indian names are so common in India!

Now when you are looking at uncommon names, you need approval. Everyone has their own point of view. Vivaan, to some, sounds like Vimaan. That ‘someone’ is called Indrani! So would you go by her views? Our maid laughed at the name Vedant saying it sounds like a book. She named her daughter Prateeksha. Should we take into account her opinion? Every name that me and my Bhabhi come up with is rejected by my brother and father. What do people who work with embroidery karigars like Miraj and Shadab know about uncommon names!?

To look for rare names we spoke to our younger cousins in Mumbai, you know, it’s a happp city! A 17-year old and his friends insisted on the name Yudi! They too had an opinion on every name. Virat and Samrat and Ranvir were blatantly rejected. The best was when they said that the kid will eventually grow up and Vivaan won’t suit him.

Oh yes, the ordeal doesn’t end at family, friends and maids. The astrologer has to approve the name. He has already rejected one name saying the kid would be authoritative if we name him ‘xyzee’!

It’s an awesome experience and I’m lovin’ it. I hope I remember this and be able to tell my nephew how many con-calls we had to make to name him what we eventually do. All suggestions from the blog world are welcome. And oh, I forgot to tell you, we’ve even read what celebrities are naming their kids. I’m glad we didn’t like Czar, Diva and Anya (Farah Khan’s triplets), Zen (Tara Sharma’s son) and many more in the name of uncommon names!

Miracles and Memories - Part 1

The last few weeks have been extremely busy. My brother had the cutest little baby boy. In the entire extended family he is the first boy of his generation, ah, what pressure! My 5-year old niece use to sing songs for him when he was in the tummy. Now whenever he cries, she starts humming “Doe a deer…” loudly and if he stops she considers it an achievement! When she saw him for the first time her hands trembled on touching him. She softly mumbled “God bless you”. The cuteness in the house is unbeatable. I see their pictures numerous times everyday and just want to be with them. How can we love our nieces and nephews so much!?

When my sister-in-law was in the hospital my niece use to sleep with me. Since she is very close to me she had no issues. Fortunately her school had holidays during that time and I didn’t need to help her with that. The only day she had school we thought we would let her bunk. She woke up at 6 a.m. asking is it morning, and that she needed to go to school! She went and told all her friends how she had a baby brother now. A friend of hers asked “Why are you telling us!” Really, I haven’t seen anything more innocent! The niece also wanted to know the procedure of feeding the baby. Do you know why? She said when she had her own baby; she should know how she would feed him!

Such things make me want to be close to my hometown. I’m fortunate that I get to meet most of my family members and friends every time I go. But then there are some whom I’ve not seen for a long time and long for a glimpse.

Such is life. We meet, make sweet memories, laugh with each other and go on our respective ways. If we meet the one's we want to, it’s a blessing. If we can't, memories don’t help much! Do they?