Here comes the baby

One of my exes just informed me that he is now the father of a bonny baby girl. He sent me a snap which basically has him hogging the space, with a little bundle somewhere in the picture. (To give a little background, he had come to Mumbai to be an actor at some point in time. Instead, he became a software engineer after friends dutifully helped him through the shakal versus akal debate.) On sending him an admonitory email, I receive pics of the little baby. And she is such a darling! In the 15 pictures that RK sent me, she is yawning in 14 of them. (In the 15th one, she is fast asleep.)

To top it all, the baby’s name is ‘Araya’ – a name I had reserved for my daughter. I would spell her name as ‘Aria’ because that’s what I want my little girl to be like – the aria. Complex, expressive, melodious and dramatic, but more than that, above everything else, a solo pursuit.

To get back to the little baby – she is only a week old but has a lot of hair. And her tiny mouth is shaped in the form of an ‘O’, rather than an ‘AAA’. So she yawns a little differently. She has pink cheeks and two chins. Gosh! She looks warm and sweet-smelling. Like a freshly baked vanilla muffin. I wish I could hold her right now and take her to Carter Road. I don’t know why. It would be so nice to snuggle up to a baby by the sea.

In the background of one of the photos, I see a Tinkle comic. I am quite sure that was RK’s reading release in the stressful time of childbirth.

So, I am not quite sure how much more mature RK is now than when I knew him (The email specifically mentions – ‘Please come to visit the baby. She is accepting presents.’), but he is the father of a girl. And that’s the first step to being a whole lot selfless.

It’s amazing how you see the picture of a child and suddenly start loving your unborn baby already.

God bless us all.

Comments

Ameet said…
It's always weird meeting your friends' and ex's kids. Sends a tingle up your spine.

Although he stole your baby name, look at the bright side. He'll never know what it truly means. Unless, you introduced him to the magical world of arias.
Twisted DNA said…
My wife and I dreamed of having a girl all the time. He had a boy. So we couldn't use the name we were thinking of :( (But it doesn't matter... boys and girls, they are all sweet.)

Hope you will get to use the name you have been saving. Aria is a very nice name by the way.

"She is accepting presents"
Hilarious!
Anonymous said…
awww...Mukta, u have a way wit words girl!!!!

one of my collegues is expectin now..its such a wonderful exp..we keep pamperin her all the time..everytime we go to a mall, we al check out cute baby outfits :-)) but kids can b a handful wen theyr growin up..

i'v sent u a mail on ur gmail acc.

Uthra
Risha said…
"She is accepting presents"
ha ha ha that is unbelievable....ppl write that!!!

btw aria is a lovely name
Anonymous said…
My name is Arish and my elder sister's name is Ariya (sounds similar to Aria), and this name is derived from Japanese name Arai.....Arai-san(Miss Arai) is common name in Japan,

Like we have Rahuls, Samirs, Dipeshs, Rakeshs, Maheshs....all esh in India

Btw, Aria is really a cool name.
Anonymous said…
God bless you too...and there's nothing against naming ur baby Aria is there? I think its only when u r related that u musnt keep the same name...my best frd and I had liked the same name and wanted to keep it for our respective kids...and she let me keep the name, choosing what she liked as an alternative as the main name for the baby. That really touched my heart.
Anonymous said…
India.Arie has been playing in my head for a few days. don't know what it has to do with this post and why i'm writing it, but a random factoid anyways
Deep said…
Nicely written!

I specially loved the line:


It’s amazing how you see the picture of a child and suddenly start loving your unborn baby already.


Reading it reminded me of that amazing line from Byran Adams "Have u ever really loved a woman"

When you can see your unborn children in her eyes....

Good work!!

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