Baby B needs a name....

Guys... this is your chance to name the most famous baby in India! Apparently the Bachchans are looking for unusual names starting with the letter 'A'.Go for it! Let's see which blogdost hits the jackpot! I like Amaara a lot. I also like Aparajita and Ayesha. You go next....

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This appeared in Bombay Times...

Chho Chwwweeet!

We love our babies! And we love our celeb-babies the most. Now that the latest bachcha to be born into the Bachchan household is nearly a week old, it’s time to relax! For the past nine months, we were behaving like India was pregnant! Never before has so much footage, so much newsprint been devoted to the birth of a baby. Any baby. That makes Baby B special. Very special. When she grows up and discovers the mass hysteria around her birth, she may just gasp and wonder what the fuss was all about. But at the moment, everybody is busy asking, “Does she look like Ash?” That is the big question dominating the chitter-chatter-twitter crowd. “Does she have Ash’s eyes?” Here’s another one : “ It seems her lucky letter is ‘K’. What will she be named? How about Keya?” Will she giggle like her mom? Be as graceful? Will she inherit her dad’s height? Will she join movies? Take on endorsements? Oooof.Too much, na? Does all this sound totally crazy? It is!
Victoria Beckham is battling the same issues. Each time she steps out with Harper, she is pounced upon - a major paparazzi-attack follows! It is believed Harper has beaten Suri Cruise in the baby fashion stakes and that Victoria is coming out with a special fashion line for richie-rich, trendy bambini with global tastes in rompers. The Beckhams have produced four gorgeous kids and Victoria effortlessly pops them out phata-phat, like buns out of an oven, without gaining an extra centimeter! God knows how she does it, but hats off to her. In India, we make a super production out of celeb-babies. I read a funny piece on some blog which slams women who flash their baby bumps for showing off as ‘Fertility Queens’.In India, this is comparatively a new trend as we tend to be super-superstitious about pregnancy. Even as late as five years ago, expectant mothers played down their delicate condition, wore deceptively loose garments, stayed indoors, till it became obvious they were indeed ‘in the family way’. Today, having a baby has become a style statement!And displaying a baby bump is considered really cool. Much to her credit, Aishwarya was discreet and demure throughout her pregnancy, making just one surprise appearance at Abu-Sandeep’s 25th anniversary party.
In all likelihood, our media will go into overdrive once Ash gets home with her bundle of joy. With all the unprecedented, self-imposed press restrictions this time, perhaps we’ll see some restraint. But that won’t be exercised forever! Just wait and see what happens when Baby B goes for her first outing , most likely, a temple visit six months from now. Till such time , the hungry presswallas will have to make do with Proud Papa Abhishek’s frequent tweets and updates. Unless, of course the Big B launches a separate blog for his grand-daughter! Now that would make it a wonderful first! Let’s welcome Baby B to the blogosphere, folks! And, of course, to a life in a fish bowl.