We have been greedy parents. Always. Not much after Mira’s birth, we were anxiously looking out for a smile of recognition from her. A smile that acknowledges our presence and tells us that she is happy being with us. Once she did that, we wanted her to sit up and look at the world in an upright position. She achieved that too in her fifth month and then, we wanted her to walk – to go on her cute little wobbly feet and see what the world had in store for her!
Mira had done it all…..Smiling…..Sitting…..Walking!
But wait, there is more to go (see, I told you we were greedy) – we are now desperately waiting for Mira’s first words. Though she has been randomly combining syllables for quite sometime now, Mira is yet to consciously utter an understandable and a meaningful word. Words like Mumma, Papa or Durga. What? Durga? Why Durga? Why her name in the same breath as Mumma and Papa? (Durga has been a treasured domestic help and a great friend to Mira since birth.).
These are the questions, rather worries which are bothering Papa these days. These worries follow Papa wherever he goes - any official travel that keeps him away for long or any late evening meeting which delays him beyond Mira’s sleeping time. As a result, Mira is undergoing long strict training sessions over the weekends to ensure that she says exactly what Papa needs to hear!
Papa: Mira, Mira,……………say………….PAA………..PA!
Mira: Looking down and busy destroying her pink stuffed dog
Papa: Mira, Mira,…………...say………….PAA………..PA!
Mira: Still looking down
Papa: Mira………..pls look here………….PAA……….PA!
Mira: Looks up, smiles and raises her arms upwards (a gesture to be picked up)
Papa: No Mira…………first say………PAA……….PA
Mira: TAA……….TAA!
Papa: PAA………PAA!
Mira: TAA………TAA!
This is one of the first few sessions and God knows, how many more to go before Mira decides which name to pick, I mean Durga or Papa. Well, how does it matter till Mumma remains the first one, she says! :-)
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Friday, November 16, 2007
Mira and her name
Don’t know whether it’s hip or romantic to decide one’s baby’s name less than a year after marriage but that’s exactly what Papa and I did!
We wanted a name that was short but impressive, simple but effective and modern but yet traditional. It didn’t take us too long to figure out that there was one name that fit all the requirements.
“Mira”.
But, it will be wrong to say that “Mira” was chosen merely for these attributes. “Mira” was a winner on another ground, it was a subset of our names – her mummy’s and papa’s names. And so, the decision was made – no matter when and no matter where, our baby if a girl, will be named “Mira”.
Our vision of “Mira” was also very beautiful.
We always thought of her as a nice, happy and a radiant girl. No, I never really imagined her very pretty but, charming yes. May be not very intelligent, but ambitious yes. Someone who would be sober during success, and perseverant during failures. Someone who would have the ability to move on, whenever life went through some rough patches Someone who would live life, care for her loved ones and pursue her passions.
Above all, I always imagined her as my best friend. Her mom’s best friend!
Though the name was tempting and the vision beautiful, it wasn’t put to use until around a year back when a small girl with puffy eyes, lovely hair and a loud wail fell on my lap and refused to let go of me since then.
It was also the day, when this long-held name got revealed to friends and family. I remember a sense of pride and an anticipation of appreciation in Papa’s voice, as he disclosed. We were confident that people would love it. In fact, love it instantly. They would be pleasantly surprised, congratulate us on getting it right, praise us in good measure and then one day, secretly name their daughter after Mira.
But, as they say, life is full of surprises, and at times some really unpleasant ones. The reactions were either negative, neutral or none at all. Some out rightly rejected it – found it too old and simple, some promised to help out with more options, some wondered about our creative abilities and some just switched over to talking about the weather! There was just a handful of people who liked it and must say, liked it a lot!
Though the criticism was substantial and overwhelming at times, Papa and I decided to hold on. After all, Mira had been in our minds for long, long before there was any sign of Mira herself - when just the thought of her could make me smile and long for having her in my arms one day.
While life has moved on and people have accepted Mira with her name, we have realized that its just Mira and Mira alone who can judge the appropriateness of her name. As we wait for the verdict to come in, we fondly see our little girl growing up – a thought shaping up into a person – a person who might be very different from our vision or expectations but whom we will always love and celebrate for she, just like her name will always be a part of us.
We wanted a name that was short but impressive, simple but effective and modern but yet traditional. It didn’t take us too long to figure out that there was one name that fit all the requirements.
“Mira”.
But, it will be wrong to say that “Mira” was chosen merely for these attributes. “Mira” was a winner on another ground, it was a subset of our names – her mummy’s and papa’s names. And so, the decision was made – no matter when and no matter where, our baby if a girl, will be named “Mira”.
Our vision of “Mira” was also very beautiful.
We always thought of her as a nice, happy and a radiant girl. No, I never really imagined her very pretty but, charming yes. May be not very intelligent, but ambitious yes. Someone who would be sober during success, and perseverant during failures. Someone who would have the ability to move on, whenever life went through some rough patches Someone who would live life, care for her loved ones and pursue her passions.
Above all, I always imagined her as my best friend. Her mom’s best friend!
Though the name was tempting and the vision beautiful, it wasn’t put to use until around a year back when a small girl with puffy eyes, lovely hair and a loud wail fell on my lap and refused to let go of me since then.
It was also the day, when this long-held name got revealed to friends and family. I remember a sense of pride and an anticipation of appreciation in Papa’s voice, as he disclosed. We were confident that people would love it. In fact, love it instantly. They would be pleasantly surprised, congratulate us on getting it right, praise us in good measure and then one day, secretly name their daughter after Mira.
But, as they say, life is full of surprises, and at times some really unpleasant ones. The reactions were either negative, neutral or none at all. Some out rightly rejected it – found it too old and simple, some promised to help out with more options, some wondered about our creative abilities and some just switched over to talking about the weather! There was just a handful of people who liked it and must say, liked it a lot!
Though the criticism was substantial and overwhelming at times, Papa and I decided to hold on. After all, Mira had been in our minds for long, long before there was any sign of Mira herself - when just the thought of her could make me smile and long for having her in my arms one day.
While life has moved on and people have accepted Mira with her name, we have realized that its just Mira and Mira alone who can judge the appropriateness of her name. As we wait for the verdict to come in, we fondly see our little girl growing up – a thought shaping up into a person – a person who might be very different from our vision or expectations but whom we will always love and celebrate for she, just like her name will always be a part of us.
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