It's a boyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy !!!

And thus the miracle happened. And the child so young, looked up and wondered why this man who looked down upon him, merely hours after his birth, smiled so pricelessly, so happily, so .. evilly ? And the father, the lean one who towered above the cowering child smiled back - revealing his fanged extra canine.. and laughed heartily. He looked down upon the child and proclaimed -" Son, I name thee Voldemort."

And the baby cried.

Then again, I suppose that's what happened. I wasn't there. And while the incident above took place in a hospital, for once, I was miles away. You see, this famous delivery which finds its way into my blog is of none other than the child of two of my best friends with whom I shared most of my time in college, Pada and Cheeena, including breakfasts, lunches and dindins during internship. They were the first ones I'd turn to when in grave need of advice, were the first ones to raise apprehensions to my relationship at a time when all around were joining in my new found joy, were the first to rally around me after I'd hidden from the world .. distance has pushed us away, but memories continue to bring back a smile. So why am I and the others sending them weird messages at the news of their parenthood ?

Beeee-cause, finally, there's a baby boy in the batch. I mean, you have no idea how hilarious the situation was getting. With nearly 70 % of the batch married and half of them moms / dads, it was amazing that not a single one of their kids was a boy. When news filtered through of their impending parenthood, I had called up Chhenbeen and threatened her that if I heard they too joined the others and made us god -fathers to more god- daughters ( ?), I'd personally come down to Trivandrum and kick her ass. Hehe. Scared her goooood, cause finally the 99' batch , after a loong loong time has a baby boy to toast to.
Congrats guys. Thats one lucky kid. Think about it. Whenever a reunion of our batch does occur, he will be surrounded by a dozen plus girls his own age... oooh baby baby lucky baby.

But there is pain too. Because as the news arrived, I remembered old photos of my own birthdays as a kid. There were parties in which all my dad's friends were there to celebrate me the great ( I was probably 2 years old, which explains why I didn't have many friends over for that party ).. But the memory left me feeling sad.. because the way life has placed us all, I will never be there for anyone's kids as they grow up, unlike my dad's friends. I will never know them. Except for news from their dads or moms, they will never know me. Unlike my dad's friends who I knew as I grew up, life has placed us all so far apart that we will not be there for each other. Sms be damned. This isn't what I wanted in life.. Anyday, I would give it up for awhile ( hmm, a life of love and laughter vs 42 hours work, 6 hours sleep, 42 hours work ? - tough choice ), just to have the whole team together - to watch Pada as a dad, or Cheens trying to prove to her one year old daughter that she is indeed, more mature than her.. to just let that kid know I exist, that I was a part of their parents life.

There are so many regrets to live with in life. But for me, it always somehow comes down to the same fly in the soup - The regret of losing people. Of realising over and over again, that nothing lasts forever, that we have to move on and that no matter how badly you want to... sometimes you cannot be a part of other's lives.

Raihan, ( You didn't really think there's a Voldemort Pada running around in Trivandrum right now, didja ?) I don't know if I'll be a part of your life. I wish I could be more than "that crazy non Mallu MALLu" who nicknamed your dad Pada( after Padayappa, your dad was the only Tamilian in our batch.. you know he's Tamilian, right ?) and suggested you be named Shivaji to continue the legacy.. who sat behind your dad in all university exams and woke him up every day of college or vice versa, who needed your dad's help for any work to be done,..who hoped your mom and dad would get together when things looked bleak, who was perhaps the happiest in the batch when they got married... I'm more than that, kid. I'm Unca Rosh... the uncle you'll hardly ever get to see, I fear. And I hate that I can't be there to dance "my funky steps" at your hospital door today, not bothering who's watching..

It isn't a small world, as the song says. It's a big world and it's getting bigger. Technology maybe bringing us closer, but it's after taking us farer away from each other than would earlier have been possible. For those of you out there who still haven't realised it, treasure every memory, every friend while they are with you. Because nothing stays constant.. no matter how fixed the road of life appears to be, life has other plans you never even dreamed of..

P.S. Happy Birthday, Pads.....