Aranjanam Kettal / Irupathi Ettu Kettu

On the fifth day of February 2010, was my 28th day ceremony or Irupathi Ettu Kettu/Aranjanam Kettal as called in Kerala. Irupathiettu = 28, kettu = knot, Aranjanam = thread/ornament tied around the waist. Usually a black cotton thread and a gold chain are interwined and tied around the waist of the child. This thread is called 'Aranjanam'.

According to some, this thread is tied to to ward of evil spirits/evil eye and hence considered to be protective. Aranjanam is worn by people of all age groups and the function of it  may be just ornamental or religious

My Ammachi and Appachan (my paternal grandparents) tied only a gold thread around my waist as Mallu Christians do not believe in evil spirits and the evil eye as such. Along with this, a gold chain with a gold cross was put around my neck.

Appachan tried to put it across, but because of his bad eyesight, he was unsuccessful, Papa then tried and gladly blessed him by spewing a fountain of pee on him. 

My Aranjanam Kettal pics:

Christening and the NAME GAME

Even though, I was born on the eight of January 2010, I was only christened after three months on the 3rd of April 2010 as Rohit Jacob at St. Baselios Orthodox Church, Marathahalli, Bangalore. I had a Catholic christening on the 11th of April 2010 at St. Anthony's Friary, Madiwala, Bangalore; presided by Rev. Fr. Gabriel Mathias. It was the same church that Mama was christened as well. My godparents were my maternal uncle, Sanjeev Christopher Dhanaraj and my maternal aunty, Geetha Veronica Dhanaraj.

My parents were undecided about a name, even though Mama's first choice was Joshua Jacob, it wasn't well received by Mama's family and hence, the argument continued. My parents then decided on Arya Jacob, but that turned out to be a unisex name and Papa didn't want to have a name which sounded anything like a girl. So on the morn of the christening, after many a family disputes, Papa decided we choose Rohit Jacob and Mama agreed.  It worked out all fine, as according to my Nakshatra (Chitra Nakshatra) or birth time, a name beginning from the letter 'R' would prove beneficial to my life. Papa happened to always like the name Rohit and Mama wanted an Indian name, which had something to do with the Sun and hence Rohit Jacob it was. If left to Mama alone, she would have named me 'Surya', not only becuase she loves the film star, but because she simply loves the powerful name. Also, Mama believes that it sounds great to say Sherin, Sheena and Surya (Sherin is Papa & Sheena is Mama) & Annanya, Maanyaah and Surya even rhyme, (Annanya & Maanyaah are my cousins: Mama's older sister, Gemma's daughters).

Rohit (Devanagari: रोहित) is a proper noun and a name given to Indian males.

The word Rohit at its root signifies the colour red. As can be seen from the various meanings or definitions below, the colour red is implicit in each,

It is derived from Sanskrit, it means the "First rays of the sun". The early morning sunlight usually has a lot of reddish tint.
It is also said to be derived from the Sanskrit word Rohitah (रोहित:) which signifies a red coloured deer - a form which Brahma once took.
Rohit is also one of the names of the Hindu God Vishnu, when He first arrived on earth as a beautiful red fish. It appears in the Vishnu Sahasranaam (विष्णु सहस्रणाम, "1000 names of Vishnu").
Rohit also means a person who leads to growth and development of his family (a commonly held belief in Hindu families).
Etymology
As stated above the word Rohit is associated with the colour red, and is a modification (or corruption) of the word Lohit. Loh or Lauh means red in Sanskrit. Hence Lohit ("of red") signifies or describes something that is red coloured.

Source(s):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohit

My name number is 2, which suggests that I am friendly, diplomatic, inspiring and cooperating! 

My Baptism Pics:

First pics

Birth Stats

My Birth stats were:
Date: 8th January 2011
Time: 1:55pm
Place: Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, Cox Town, Bangalore.
Weight: 3.56 kgs / 7.8 pounds
Birth Attendants: Dr. Priscilla Christo, Dr. Talath and Dr. Mahendra
Colour: Pink
Apgar: 8 at 1 minute; 9 at 5 minutes
Heart Rate: 140
NNR ++
RR 40
Cry and Sensitivity: Good
External features: Eumorphic
Impression: Term AGA baby
Discharge weight: 3.32kgs

And so the journey begins...

On the seventh evening of January 2010, Mama was asked to be admitted to the hospital, so that labour could be induced, to help me come out. The contractions began around 10:00pm and gradually intensified through the night. Towards dawn, my mother was unable to cope with the pain and requested for an epidural*. Many instruments were attached to mama, to monitor my progress. Everybody was unhappy with mama's decision of opting for an epidural and she was shouted at by the hospital staff. The epidural and the long labour made mama very sleepy and tired. Towards the last leg of labour, mama tried to push me out for three and a half hours, but was just unable to do so. Meanwhile, I had gotten my self in a spot, where normally my entire body should have been facing backwards, I had my head positioned correctly, but my shoulders were upright and hence was acting as a block to my way out. The progress was slow and it was already past noon.  Dr. Priscilla Christo then decided to pull me out using forceps and took mama into the labour room at 1:15 pm. Thanks to the strong and competent doctor, I was taken out safe and sound at 1:55pm on Friday, the 8th of January 2010. The pediatrician, Dr. Mahendra flushed my stomach and made sure I was in the pink of health. Mama in her semi-conscious state still thought she needed to push, and had the doctors laughing, by asking them if she still needed to do so. The doctors stitched mama up, while I was bathed and presented to the family. Amma - my maternal grandmother was the first to hold me. Only after a while did I see Papa. I was too sleepy to be meet the rest of the family and was only waiting for mama to hold me close! I was clothed in a white tie-up shirt with orange flowers and a nappy and wrapped with a blue flannel blanket with teddy bear motifs - all provided by the hospital. I was happy to be in this world, though I did miss the warm, secure place I stayed in for forty weeks!

*Epidural: An analgesic which is inserted in the epidural column in the spine, which helps numbs the area, so that contractions are not as intense.