The namesake

There is a new baby boy in the apartment directly below ours. Coincidentally he is February-born, is called Ashwin and was born under the same star. On Friday, his grandma came to invite us to celebrate his homecoming on Saturday. I mean, for over a month after his birth, the baby had been at his mother's parents' place.

I went alone, because I couldnt take Mira alone without Ash's knowledge. V stayed back thinking it was a hen's party.

The baby was asleep in his crib when I reached. He reminded me of Ash when he was an infant - puny and brown and quiet. I made small talk with his mother and the other ladies in the block. Apparently the function was something to do with shifting him to a cot, and had a name to that effect. I didnt watch the actual ceremony, brief as it was and the venue surrounded by zealous relatives. But I trotted down for the ensuing dinner despite an already full tummy. Idli-sambar-chutney and chapati-korma and some sweets - most of which had a home-made flavour to it. I reserved my share of the strawberry icecream for the kids. Once upon a time my mom used to smuggle home cake slices wrapped in butter paper that she got at wedding feasts. I am learning too.

The next day, after church, we decided to take the kids out to the park and to visit the shop nearby to look for a neat gift for Ash's teacher. (We hope to give it at the end of the term as a token of our gratitude for her caring ways to Ash). The kids trooped down with the maid while I made last-minute preparations - napkins, water, spare clothes etc for the kids. As I locked the door I could hear V talking in the flat downstairs. I walked down to find Ash peering into the baby's crib in the drawing room while V chatted with its father and grandparents.
"Is the baby sleeping?" I asked his father. "No, his mother is giving him a bath," he mumbled. Or was it a feed?
Once out of their apartment, V chided me for letting Ash out of the house without escort. The maid and Mira had gone down to the car park, while Ash seemed to linger behind for his dad's company. And seeing the door of the neighbour's house open and a baby in there, he had walked in to have a look. Apparently, according to V who followed Ash, the new mother bolted out of the room with the baby and locked herself in the bedroom upon seeing Ash. They probably didnt want the baby to catch eczema! As if it is a contagious disease!
We drove out quietly, upset as each of us adults were about our carelessness. The kids chattered happily in anticipation of the slide and the see-saw in the park.