Yeh Swapna hi hain

My ni(e)ce was named yesterday.. We had a naming ceremony at my place, with all my relatives coming over. The aunts and uncles thronging to see the first in my family's third generation. I was busy running around arranging things, but would always steal some time to be be with Nano, who was really enjoying the attention she was getting. She had captivated her audience with her range of expressions, starting from the wide eyed gaze, which meant she was in a playful mood and was seeking out the right company, to her i've just crapped look, which meant, well, that she had... And Its always so amazing to hear adults near kids.. I dont know what it is about these tiny tots that makes ppl speak like they have some severe form of retardation. I mean you'd never hear an adult go, Hi, how do you do.. with a kid.. Its always alululululu and cho chweet and.. you get the idea.. Even old uncles, who have never been known to smile would be grinning and speaking in totla fashion that'd put Bawa caricatures to shame..

Now, for those not familiar with the mallu ways of things, mamas rule (yeah, thats me!) We are the ones who get to name the kid, to feed her her first food.. Basically if you are a mallu kid, better be good with your mama.. My sister was gung-ho about the name Swapna, and i liked it as well. She's named her Swapna after a close friend Swapna, whom she almost idolizes. So with mama's approval, the name was finalized, and i was excited at the prospect of being at the helm.. What i didn't realize was that where tradition had made me the take the 'Seat of Honour', it made me do so shirtless, and wearing a Mundu.. YIKES!! And wearing a trouser underneath just makes it look really awful.. So basically... When i was in the mundu, there wasn't a second line of defense, except at er.. at sensitive installations..


The ceremony was a simple one.. The bua puts on her ornaments.. I then take her name thrice in each ear after calling out Parvati into each ear first.. When i call out the name, my sister covers the other ear with a betel leaf, and once this is done, I announce the name to everyone else. Then i feed her some stuff mixed in milk.. more symbolically than anything else.. and after me, all the others take turns doing this, calling her by her name, all while i hold her.



Anyway, all this holding and shifting with my hands busy holding her had sent my confidence (about the mundu) for a walk, and standing up, all i could hope for was the mundu would stay out on my waist. The prospect of me doing a John-from-dostana was seeming increasingly imminent.. along with the ceremony ending up with an 'A' rating (Yeah, the entire thing was taped.. and my mundu was about to "go down in history") And there really is no comeback from ur mundu falling off.. Even the lil kid Swapna would have laughed her matchbox size ass off! Thankfully, the mundu didnt let me down..


Alls well that ends well!

The Mighty Nano Happiness

10th July 2009.... Definitely amongst the most beautiful days of my life... My sister gave birth to an angel, whom i call Nano... I came up with the name Nano when I first saw a video of a sonography my sister had got done.. and boy, Nano was the best way to describe her then (Not that she is a Khali clone right now.. hehe..).. Tiny lil thing she was back then, floating around in my sister's womb.

Nano gave us all a scare, altering timelines and jumping out before schedule.. Thankfully my IT background allowed me to deal with timelines that change dramatically... And though i think that her decision to jump out came from anxiety and excitement and eagerness to meet her maama (to my angrez friends, maama is Maternal Uncle), i think she missed the plot a little, coz she spends an awful lot of time sleeping. She does wake up from time to time though.. And thats the time you should see her.. She is THE MOST interesting company you could have.. I remember chatting with her about the challenges she will have to face as she grows up, and she nodded at the end of my monologue... Here is some of it

Me: Nannnooooo.. Aee Nanoooo.....
Nano: Ubbauua
Me: You are chuch a beauchiful girl, hai na? Maama's nano na? (Damn! Whats wrong with my pronunciation???!!!")
Nano: Ubbauua
Me: Mama needs to have a word with you... Growing up now is tough though.... Er... Ever heard of an article 377?
Nano: uwaaa... (cries for a moment)
Me: Dont like the judgement huh? Good...
Nano: Ubbauua.. Naaeeccc (I think Naaeeccc is baby-ic for Nah!)
Me: I hope you getting what i am talking about
Nano: (Moves head up and down)

Now, if this is not sign of genius, what is? A 2 day old baby who is having a conversation, is well informed and is opinionated!! I think she has taken after me.... Coz she is cute, lovable, forever hungry, knows a good drink when she sees one and every girl in the room wants to kiss n cuddle her... umm... ok maybe not the last bit... but you know, she is much like maama and is maama's lil girl.. Ah, thats where the genius comes from as well i guess..

It was fun after i had taken her first ever picture.. My mom was looking at the picture and commenting
"look at the face structure... Just like Deepa (ma' sis)"
and my bro-in-law's moms like
"Look at her... exactly like Satish"
"Oh the eyes are like Deepa"
"Look, the chin is like satish!"
"Even the chin - exactly like deepa"

Both were oblivious to the other's comments and my aunt was standing bisecting these two grandmas, thouroughly confused and not knowing which side to take, lest one of the them get emotional or get down to blows... Me, well, i KNOW for a fact that looks like a very feminine version of me.. And no one (dares) argues with that :)

Right now, nano is living the life...
She drinks (milk... Interestingly enough, pepsi and stuff aint that cool right now)
She throws tantrums (she is my bhaanji, but hey she is a girl as well.. and this practice will help her some day to make a guy bend over backwards for her... So, she is in the right hands! I mean, my sis will be a wonderful mom and that sentence is to be read in isolation...)
She plays (mainly with her mama, others may stay and watch) and sleeps... Thats pretty much it!

Angel she is.. Angel! I love her

PS: Fan #1: You can give me the 'I-TOLD-YOU-SO' routine.. coz i love her soooo much, and i even dared pick her up... :)
Fan #2: Umm... If you haven't figured out yet, i have become a mama, and a congratulatory message on FB is the order of the day..