Legend has it that when my mother was pregnant with me, my sister was a little over a year old. For a baby who could barely say a few words, my mother asked her what she wanted her new brother/sister to be called.
“You’re soon going to have a new friend to play with. Would you prefer a girl or a boy?”
“Boy.”
“What do you want to call him?”
“Naveenda.”
“Do you mean Ravindra?”
“No. Naveenda.”
“Praveen?”
“No. Naveenda.”
“Okay. And what if it is a girl? What should we call her?”
“Naveenda!” (The frustration clearly rising)
It turned out to be a boy. My parents and sister negotiated and decided to meet somewhere in the middle.
It was going to be Naveen.
