More on 'Names' :)

India is a country of more than a billion people & Daddy now realized why India is topping the charts in population the world over. I was born in October, 2007 & in last three odd months, a large (very large) number of Daddy's friends/ relatives/ colleagues/ classmates have experienced the joy of parenthood :)

Some of the names chosen by the recent (& not so recent) parents are amazing ('Rocking' as daddy calls them) so he had to dedicate a post to them. So, here's the list in no particular order:

Mehek - Daughter of Amit & Shikha (Dua & Dui as daddy fondly calls them). They are both good friends of daddy since his college days in SLIET. 'Mehek' means fragrance & is a lovely name. Mehek was born in Feb, 2007.

Vivaan - Son of Ashish & Jaspreet (Chabbu & Jas - 2 more of Daddy's gang members from SLIET). Daddy had never heard of it earlier. Since Chabbu & Jas stay in US, a modern name like 'Vivaan' is a perfect fit. It means Lord Shiva. Vivaan was born in Nov, 2006.

Vihaan - Son of Meghna & Vikrant. Meghna (or Meghna Madam in Mamma's language) was Mamma's colleague at Amity School of Engg & Tech in Delhi. Not sure what it means but it sounds good & is not very common either. Vihaan is 1.5 years old now.

Akshit - Son of Praveen & Deepika, Daddy's neighbours in Gurgaon. They initially named him 'Jiyesh' as the starting letter came out as 'J'. Akshit sounds better any day, thank god that they decided to change his name :). Akshit is close to turning 2 years old.

Bhavik - Son of Asit & Sukriti. Asit is another one of Daddy's classmate & friend from his SLIET days. He was perhaps the naughtiest character in his class. It's another nice & uncommon name. Bhavik turned 2 years old on this New Year's eve.

Sharon - Daughter of Manju & Pradeep. Manju (err Manju Madam) was Mamma's colleague at Amity & is now based in US. That's one name which sounds more american than indian ! Sharon was born on 2nd Oct, 2007

Aprajita - Daughter of Meenu & Sanjay. Meenu is one of Mamma's childhood friends & neighbours from Sirsa. Daddy says it's a beautiful name & it sure is :). Aprajita was born in May, 2007

Jiya - Daughter of Maninder, a colleague of Daddy from Alcatel. This one is from the 'Karan Johar Book of Names' - short & sweet. One of the meanings is 'Heart'. Maninder is based in Sydney, Australia. Jiya is 2 weeks old now (Hurray, finally some one younger than me :)

Ishaan - Son of Poonam & Munish (Poonam was a classmate of Daddy in SLIET). This one is a bit more common than others. Out of the 50 odd serials that Mamma watches on TV, two of them have kids with this name. Nice name though ! Ishaan was born in September, 2006 (or 2005 - Daddy's fading memory ??).

Rushil - Son of Vikas & Vandana. Vikas was a colleague of Daddy from Alcatel. This one is easily the most innovative & unheard of the lot! It means 'Charming'. Rushil was born in Dec, 2007.

Diya - Son of Puja (Puja was a classmate of Daddy in SLIET). Daddy has lost touch with her after college & he picked this one up from Puja's blog. Diya means 'light', 'dazzling personality'. She shares her name with one of the most beautiful actresses from the Indian Film Industry - Diya Mirza. A name which really appears 'soft' & pleasing to the ears. Diya was born in December, 2007.

Daddy loves the letter 'A' so here are some of them with his favourite letter:

Aarav - Son of Reeti & Dheeraj (SLIET again !!).
Arnav - Son of Malkiat & Preeti (SLIET - is that too hard to guess? :)
Arohi - Daughter of Ritu (ex-Colleague from Alcatel)
Ambreen - Daughter of Manpreet (SLIET's here again)

Okay.. that's been a long list already. Some of the parents have gone the more conventional way & picked more common names, here are some of them:

Siddharth - Son of Vishal & Suprika (Daddy's friends from SLIET)
Krishna - Son of Ajay (a school friend of Daddy)

The list is not yet complete as some of my friends are on their way to planet earth in the coming months :) Daddy, please ensure that you update this list when they are here :)