you were Thus named

yesterday 24-09-2009 was the 11th day of your birth.
11th day is the day of purification
birth of a child is equivalent to the death of a person

the house needs to be purified after the birth on the 11th day

so we had punyavachanam and along with that pappa also 'enforced' or bulldozed, so to say, the namakaranam ceremony..
i was more curious to know about the process, how the naming is to be done based on star and date and rashee, but it turned into an immediate implementation.

Vaadyar mentioned that on 14th Sep 09, which was 5 days before NavRarti started, between 1000-1015 was Kanya Rashee, Punarvasu nakshtram, dashami, after the full moon. and that your name should start with the sounds ra ri rae ru..
we were listing some other names, to start with S to mix into the family set of names.. so I had listed out names like
Shambhavi -which amma had suggested -refering to some Shambhu Rani in her family
Sudarshana -which I suggested refering to your countenance, nice to look at (su darshan, also alluding to Lord Krishna's weapon, and thus to the Vaishnava sect connection of bujju's taste)
Katyayini - for 24th was the 6th day of Navratri belongs to Katyayini form of Durga
Shashwati -the name just popped into my head so thought can consider it, and also thought of the 'modern form' of longer indian names - Sasha - which might be useful later in passports, or when you interact with the world of today's and your times, long names might be a problem...
and there was the name Tattva/Tattvam that I long wanted to consider.. as I thought it out way back in June or so, some different name to the rigmarole of names we read..

but then all those names got wished away in a way when the letter of choice was R, and thus pappa had his thought of naming you after his mother, RamaLakshmi, which in a way is the tradition too... to name the child after someone elder in the family or some god's name.
the other things i needed to write about are:
your vaginal bleeding
your first 'food' on 24th as part of namakarana
your first set of cries
our sleepless nights since 17th when you got back home, our inabilities to understand your needs but figuring out intuitively about your cries meaning hunger, cleaning etc.
your first set of smiles.. came from some kind of dreams you have been dreaming.. or some sensations that makes you smile.. or what we in our human terms know as smile.. you are still in a divine world where all you probably think of is your sensations of intake and outgo...
but it seems you are in a world of your own, your smile conveys that you probably are understanding some things but your blank looks say otherwise...
i don't know what kind of thoughts you go through but they are surely very special for me to imagine you are enjoying them

you have developed this interesting habit of crying unless someone lifts you to feed you.. and you have started distinguishing the male from the female.. for you seek food even when the bai who comes to wash you lifts you.. while when i lift you, you start crying..
how the mind works..

lets hope you get the time to read these thoughts of your dad when you are old enough to understand what we are going through today.. and what you are for us.

i shot some video's of you inyour different moods.. will upload them to youtube once I go back to work from Tuesday 29-09-09.. will miss you in those days of work but I hope there is a chance I can get back to meet you oftener... or work from here itself.

the video of you being bathed, after a massage might help you understand what as a baby you went through then, and how it turned helpful for you.
you have been crying a lot for the last 2 days when someone lifts you.
we thought it was some kind of a pain but maybe it is just that you are so hungry...

your mom is nowadays busy feeding you, cleaning you and resting in the room, for she is in a way under house arest.. or should I say room arest.. she is not supposed to enter the kitchen as suggested by amma, for the doctor has adviced 6 weeks since 21-09-09 of rest for her stitches to heal...

i spoke to pranjal today, and as per his belief, the babies born during Shraddh period before NavRatri are some ancestors in their new avataar.. now that pappa named you after my Paati, grandmothter, and that you keep one eye of yours closed, by design or habit, I am reminded that you are probably her..
I didn't get to know her well then.. lets see if these predictions really hold ground in any way... for Pappa named you after her..
that nomenclature is another controversy which no one wants to talk about.. though i need to put your name down in the birth registration form and i am still wondering what name do I put in there...
R. Tattva-Shashwati or R. Tattva Shambhavi for R. is stuck to you by tradition of the naming ceremony.

confused by my flow of thoughts??? they are just flowing and i write here.

lots of other thoughts to share for the period I am in Indore, before my days of work beckon me to Bombay where you will eventually be soon... though I want you to be here with grandparents and get to share their love and affection too...
let's hope things go all well and good for all..

so my baby, this is the 12th day of you on this planet.. and I am still to come to terms with how I can help you be a very stress-free individual... so help me god!