What's in a name

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" ....

My dear Bill, how much more wrong could you be? Maybe you never met a couple who just became proud parents of a bonny kid. As a Chinese proverb correctly puts it, the beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names. So, if we wish to ensure a correct future for our progeny, the first step would be to give her the right name. So, how tough could it be?

Since the past month or so, apart from the medical aspects, the one very important thing that has been bothering me and Hub-e is what to name our child. The first step was to ascertain the gender of the baby. I did try to ask the Ultrasound expert on the sly, but he gave me a very knowing smile and gestured towards the board that said it was legally illegal to ascertain the sex of the unborn baby. Not to be the one who puts her weapon down, I tried the second and most effective step any sane person would use. www.google.com

Going through scores of webpages of mid-wives' tales, tell tale signs, Vedic astrology, Chinese astrology, Vulcan astrology and what not, I was beaming when each time it said, "Congratulations, its a girl!". Hats off to the amazing consistency of the web world. Informed Hub-e. He was overjoyed too ..... maybe coz now I wouldn't be bothering him about it. But alas, the poor guy didn't know what was in store for him.

Next day in office, he was bombarded by mails on names of girl child. And he had the mighty courage to Veto each one of them. He has a knack of bringing out some rhyming word to that name, which would make even my ancestors turn in their grave. Well, gradually, the excitement got to him also and I got to take my revenge by Vetoing his Genius ideas.

One fine Sunday morning, Hub-e woke me up with a sweet smile and asked, What if its a boy? Lets be prepared for that too. I felt good from within to know that he was also on the same plank as me. So, I asked, "Honey, thats so sensible. Do you have something in mind???"

A very innocent look and he replied "Meghnaad". My first thought went to the Dussehra ground where every year, the effigy on the right side of Ravana used to come down burning with a thud and everybody would clap and raise slogans about the victory of good over evil. Before I could voice my sentiments, Hub-e implored me to hear him out. Shocked and Shaken, I mutely nodded.

His theory : We Keralites are Dravidians, or to be precise, Assiriyas or Asuras. Whatever stories that we hear about the Devas and Asuras, are lopsided. Its always the version of one side that gets recorded. If one minutely analyses the history of Asuras, the story might turn out to be different (Hub-e has promised to blog his theory very soon). Anyways, he is mighty impressed by Ravana and his clan and would love to name our son Meghnaad. And if its a girl, we may find out some nice name from the Asura clan itself.

Ahem ... Ahem .... Bill might have said, "What's in a name?" ... But believe me, the future of my child depends on it. I have still not been able to counter the arguments of Hub-e. He is really good with his theory and may give the historians a run for their money. But we have another 2 months to go and by that time, I hope that his romance with Assiriyas is over. Till that time, I welcome all and everyone in my Quest for the bright future of my child. Suggestions for a name are welcome ..... (the baby is due in first week of March)

To reiterate my point .... " Words have Meanings and Names have Power"