Our first born turned 16 this year. Although we had a few choices in names, we had not come up with one befitting a princess. As a result our last name was taped to my bed in the maternity wing, and was used in all references to the baby. On being asked to provide a first  name before leaving the hospital, in order to apply for a birth certificate and a social security card, we pondered over the initial choices and came up with a beautiful and traditional bengali name of 9 characters. It had profound meaning, and like all first time parents, we knew  our daughter would be simply amazing, true to her name.

We were ready with the name of our second child - another traditional and pretty one of 7 characters when she came into this world. The name was once again loaded with meaning, and we were sure it would reflect her personality.

First borns are usually simple and straight, and our child proudly used her name at school. With each year she cringed a little at her name, but nevertheless would not accept any shorter or westernized version.

Most middle children have minds of their own, and on her first day in Kindergarten, my daughter asked the teacher to address her by a shorter version we use at home. The teacher sent me a note. I was disappointed but agreed to the "arrangement".

Finally for our youngest we came up with a name of 4 characters. He would be living in the U.S. after all, and a shorter name would be easy on the local tongue.

Yes, we are much wiser and less traditional now. The world is after all going global.