Shaivi: The harbinger of good luck

Shaivi was born four years later. This time, I was ready for either daughter or son. As luck would have it, we were blessed with another daughter.

My wife and I are both doctors, and we come from families with considerable education. With this backdrop, I was definitely not prepared for the negative reaction that I got from my relatives. A certain less educated, female relative asked us as to how we had daughter when we both were doctors. Most others tried to put on a brave face and suggested that we should not lose hope and must continue trying.

All this was very new to me. While I had seen some relatives being disappointed with my firstborn being a girl, they had joined us in giving her unconditional love. Aadya, my firstborn, had seen nothing but love and affection in the four years of her existence. I found it extremely annoying that I wanted to celebrate the new life, but there were many who were trying to console me for what they perceived to be my misfortune.

Even my wife had a nervous breakdown one day. I found her crying inconsolably. I reasoned with her – said that our attitude was what mattered. I ended up crying myself.

It was not the thought or feeling of fathering two daughters that brought me tears. What made me cry was that after all the thought of making a world of our own, we had found ourselves being affected by the opinion of those whom we considered to be unimportant in our life. Those who mattered still loved us unconditionally. We had resolved that we would provide the same unconditional love to our children. That moment was just the beginning. Why were we wavering?

It was the post-partum depression speaking. To this day, we try to laugh it off, but it still brings us shivers.

We named her Shaivi, after the Indian goddess of luck and wealth.

How we chose the names for our daughters is another story.