Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye

J

ai and Prerna hugged each other with delight. Suddenly they felt as if they should have something meetha. It seemed the Cadbury Dairy Milk ad did make an impact and Jai immediately opened the Cadbury pack that was in the refrigerator. He lovingly shared the chocolate with his wife. They spent around an hour discussing how they would break the news to the family.

They lived in a joint family and it meant that this piece of news was going to spread like wildfire. After all everyone was awaiting the first child of this generation. They had been married for two years now and everyone in the family was eager to hear the good news.

When they finally did tell the family over dinner that night the cheer and the jubilation spread like madness. Within a matter of few minutes elders of the family lined up to give blessings to the couple, younger members started celebrating and making party plans while others started making calls to near and dear ones.

Very soon the family started having brainstorming sessions over what the name of the child will be. Someone from the elders suggested a name which made the youngsters fume as they considered it too old school. They were suggesting more on the lines of Aryan or someone from the current bollywood line up. Someone rational pointed out that they did not know whether it would be a boy or a girl and they should consider both the options. This was followed by an awkward silence which was broken by Bunty, a younger cousin who wanted the name of the girl to be Katrina after her favourite actress. Everyone burst out into laughter and it lightened the mood.

In the days to come Prerna was approached by her mother-in-law and she had pointed out how happy she was to hear about the news. While she was discussing about a few of the functions that she had planned she mentioned how lovely it would be to have a baby boy. Apparently his father-in-law also shared the same feelings and they had been planning on great celebrations once the child was born.

It disturbed Prerna a bit whenever anyone mentioned that they would prefer a baby boy rather than a girl. She was a highly educated girl and could never understand the kind of logic that was sometimes displayed in such high class societies and families. Though they boasted of being modern such medieval thoughts really made her wonder what would be the reaction of the family it would indeed be a baby girl. She thought it would be better not to think about such things and rather take care of her.

After a few more days one of the family aunts suggested that she should get a prenatal checkup done on whether it was a boy or girl. Prerna mentioned that it was illegal to do such tests and besides she could not understand what the point of getting such a test done was. The aunty club did not understand her point and just kept on saying that they knew a doctor who could do such a test and it would be great to get an idea whether it was a boy or a girl.

Prerna decided to talk to Jai about this and relayed how negatively she felt about getting such a test done. Jai for once understood her point and stood by her side. He talked to his parents and soon the hue and cry for a test was mellowed down. But Prerna always heard a few stingy remarks whenever she used to pass any of the members of the Aunty club. The good thing was that her mother-in-law did not have any problem with her decision and that gave her a lot of comfort.

She got used to this and very soon it was time for delivery. The house was excited with the hope of the new arrival and almost all the members were convinced that it will be a baby boy. But Prerna had a strange feeling that it will be the opposite.

True to her feelings Prerna gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. The girl was very fair and had the eyes of Jai. Jai and Prerna were the first ones to see the baby as Jai had stayed over in the room to give support to her. Jai was the happiest person on planet at that time and he had a wide grin on his face. He could not wait to run outside and tell everyone how good looking the baby was. After a few more moments he made his way out of the room to join the curious onlookers. They had heard the cries of the baby and were already celebrating. When Jai came out everyone rushed to him and waited for the verdict.

Jai announced that it was a baby girl with a strange wave of his hands. Everyone was happy and then the long list of congratulations followed. As he tried to move towards his parents he saw that although they were happy they were disappointed that it was not a boy. It was the first child in the family and everyone had made plans that it would be a boy. It dampened the mood of Jai who took his mother aside and asked her if she was happy or not. She was genuinely happy and told Jai not to worry as it was natural in their families to expect a boy rather than a girl.

In a few days Prerna came home with her little daughter. The family made sure that the child got all the love and affection. Bunty was a bit sad as he was expecting to distribute rasgullas and eat a lot of them in the process. But now he had to be contented with other sweets. Jai made sure that he get a big pack of dairy milk for Bunty and make him happy.

But every now and then someone would come up to Prerna and say her that they wanted the next child to be a boy. It really left her speechless as there was a newborn girl in the family and still everyone wanted a boy. She always smiled affectionately to all the members and never showed her disapproval to their comments.

When she got time she always thought what would have been the reaction of the members if she would have agreed on that sex determination test.

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Perhaps awareness about female foeticide have made the urban families a lot more matured but there is still a lot of non acceptance in the society and a boy is considered a much better choice to have rather than a girl.

Do read ->
http://accidentally-mba.blogspot.in/2012/05/kuch-meetha-ho-jaaye-ii.html
Its another take on the same thought by a very good friend.