Long live numherhology

All parents wish the best for their kids and they do not mind following the words of a numerologist - if they felt it would help their children somewhere, sometime, in some way. Here are some time-pass insights into the numerology-based baby names trending in Chennai. The data is from the Chennai Corporation birth registration portal. The charts below have English letters in their horizontal axis, the vertical bars denote the number of babies that have been named starting with the corresponding letter. Blue charts are for boys; and as I could not find a pink bar readily, we are going to have orange charts for the girl babies. The fun study covers only the babies that were born to Hindu parents; and the babies for whom the names have been finalised. 

January 1, 2015:

159 boys and 152 baby girls were born on the new year day. Out of the names finalised for 110 baby boys born to Hindu parents, 72 names start with the letter 'A'; The second choice is 'L' and the names of 11 baby boys start with the letter. To stretch it a bit, 75% of the parents covered have named their boys starting with the letter 'A' or 'L'. The corresponding figure for girl babies is 73%. Visible hand of numerology. Coming to the names, 'Akhilesh' and 'Ashwanth' are the top picks for the boys; 'Akshaya' and 'Ashmitha' are popular among the girls. 

September 1, 2015: 

Maximum number of parents have decided on 'D' and 'S' as the lucky mascots of the day. Out of the 87 girls, 40 have been named starting with the letter 'S', 'D' comes a distant second with '21' occurrences. Incidentally, numerology is gender-proof. It does not matter if you were blessed with a baby boy or a girl, only what mattered was the baby's birth date. 'Sai..' and 'Sri..' take the top positions among the boys, and 'Sanjana' steals the limelight on the other side.

October 1, 2015: 

Like 01/01/2015, it seems as per the expert advice, 'A' and 'L' are the to-go letters of the date. But here, the frequency of 'L' is more pronounced compared to the first day of the year. 'Ashwanth/Ashwath' is the leader now, replacing 'Akhilesh'. But among the girls, Akshaya' is still at the top, though 'Avanthika' is giving her company now. 'Lakshitha' is the most popular in 'L'. To be noted, the numerologists here generally mention the starting sound/letters in Tamil, and not in English. Say, the expert will say 'Ka' or 'Kr' as pronounced in Tamil, and not necessarily the English letter 'K'. And, apart from the handed out auspicious first letters, there may also be conditions imposed on the overall spelling and phonetics too. At times, such terms turn the joy of naming a baby into a struggle inside a sentimental quagmire; and even a 'Sundar' can turn into 'Sundherr'.

November 1, 2015: 

'K' and 'S' are the hot favourites; Close to two thirds of the babies have been named with these starting letters. Even among the boys, there is a lot of variety in 'S' names. 'Sanjay' tops the list. You will also come across many 'Kavin' and 'Kamlesh'. Among the girls, 'Sadhana' is the show-stopper, while 'Kanishka' is not far behind. 

December 1, 2015: 

Out of the 80 baby boys covered, '30' babies have been named with 'D' as the starting letter. Among the names, "Darshan' wins hands down. Talking of the 68 baby girls, out of the 27 'D' names, 'Diya' tops the list. Perhaps, 2-3 decades earlier it would have been a 'Divya' or 'Deepa'. Every December, we all hear about superstar Rajni fanatics trying to get their babies delivered on December 12 even if there was a slight medical possibility. But surprisingly, among all the names registered in Chennai on 12/12/2015 - there is not one single baby named after the matinee idol. Even 12/12/12 does not have any Rajni.

Today, Chennai city will see another about 280 babies being born. And I will not be surprised if there are many cute and naughty 'Diyas' and 'Darshans' around. 

Baby episode

One more night that will add to the many such nights that leave me wondering in the early mornings.. who was the first one to dose off? The one who tried humming rhymes to make his child sleep, or the one who was waiting to see his father's discordant two-liners on rains and sheep turn into a blabber and very soon give way to a snore with harmony. But moments before that..

Vicky: Appa, tell me sea animals story.


Me: Oh yes! What sea animals?


V: Shark.


Me: Ok.. then..
(It's easier to weave a story if the characters are given.)


V: Big shark..


Me: Okay! Next...
(Oops.. this is going to take a dangerous turn. But I can handle.)


V: Mm.. very big shark.
(With a tone of achievement.)


Me: Good, then..
(God! I'm gone now!)


V: Eh... baby shark.


Me: Wow.. very good... THEN!!
(Don't play with my emotions Vicky. Can't you just say dolphin? Even the boring coral will do.)


V: Amma shark..


Me: ??


V: Appa shark..


And soon, the rhythmic snore.

Thanga Magan

Firstly, this second outing of Velraj-Dhanush-Anirudh that runs for just two hours is not VIP-2. And yes, I too hated the trailer punchline in which the lead actor Dhanush (Tamil) breathlessly rattles out half of the world languages and seals it up with - '...aanaa Tamil Nadula Tamil thokkavey mudiyadhu da..' ('No one can wipe off Tamil from Tamil Nadu'). But, minus such unintentionally humorous dialogues, sporadic episodes of unseemly heroism and sprinklings of simplistic thinking, it is undeniable that Thanga Magan (Golden Son) is a one with a golden heart. The lead ladies Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Amy Jackson amazingly fit into their roles that are devoid of the usual skin show. (I think the former is seen only in sarees throughout the film.) One is the girl friend, who marries Tamil's cousin after they breakup; the other is the arranged-marriage wife that provides rock solid support to Tamil, after his father hangs himself. Such strong female characters are typical of Selvaraghvan-Dhanush movies; no wonder there are tributes to the director placed within the film that runs for  - just the right length given the hairline story line. Veterans KS Ravikuamr (Vijayaraghavan, Tamil's father), Raadhika Sarathkumar (mother, thank god Kollywood is finding alternatives to Saranya to play the benevolent amma character), Jayaprakash ('officer', as he is addressed throughout) have justified their roles, though special mention is for the ace director KS Ravikumar, who seems to be having an alternative career as a bankable performer. But Vijayaraghavan reminds us of Bhavani of OK Kanmani that had symptoms of Alzheimer's disease; and Raghavan is at par with the memorable Bhavani, if not better. And for Dhanush, it is just another day at the office and he excels both as the clean-shaven adolescent lover-boy, and the desperate and disheartened son, who is on the mission to restore the lost glory of his dear, departed father. 

The initial portions filled with teenage fun are really enjoyable with composer Anirudh Ravichander and comedian Sathish lending a beautiful support, but only up to the scene where Hema D'Souza and Tamil breakup. This particular scene marks the first low in the script, and could have been handled better. (Btw, it is said Hema D'Souza has a British father and a Tambram mother.) The next, weak attempt at a twist is when Tamil looks at his cousin Aravindh 's wedding invite only to realise that his ex is getting married to Aravindh (played by Adith Arun.) While VIP touched upon sibling rivalry, in this itinerary it is about the friction between cousins that is made to turn into a raging fire. But was there a real reason? I'm still wondering. Aravindh (fair and handsome) reminds us of Arun Subramaniam of VIP. He, also resembling Siddarth Abhimanyu, is a villain with a fair skin that the mass Tamil audience will easily start hating. Though the trailer dialogues between the cousins make us expect something like Holmes-Moriarty, nothing could be more disappointing, absolutely. The bold and cunning Aravindh fumbles very soon, and he is reduced to the level of a meaningless, lunatic joker ultimately. There is no punch to it. But moments like the scene where the apologetic cousin falls at Tamil's mother's feet inconsolably keep you awake, connected and moved. The performance sparkles. Instantaneously, the centre of focus shifts to the 'officer' of the IT Dept. and things begin to proceed in the auto-mode with the usual stunts-in-rains (..protecting a pregnant wife too! yes, they were on the way to a hospital for delivery in an autorickshaw, and it was raining too when the bunch of goons stopped them. Can you beat it?) and also some superficial sub-plots, and the quick volte-face of the officer's assistant and 'The end'. But one nice thing is that the hero never even touches the villain - forget chasing him down the streets and bashing his brains out. 

The last portions of the film are a let down. It also gets preachy when Tamil spits out moral lessons to his cousin and us. But perhaps that is the soul of the movie. Money cannot buy happiness. And here is where the movie diverges from the beaten track of the rags-to-riches plots, and manages to score too. In the end, Tamil is not even a penny richer, in fact with the new addition to his family his financial worries are only going to worsen, but - the couple is happy, as the film ends Tamil is seen carrying his wife, Yamuna, lovingly.

Though the film does not take the craft to a new level or dishes out something exceptionally entertaining, this golden son with occasional bouts of fatigue - will not fail to warm your hearts.

(Spoilers above)