Auspicious

A Indian colleague of mine had his first baby born yesterday. He e-mailed today to thank me for my congratulations, and said something I found very poetic: "Having a baby makes me feel incredibly complete".

He also sent out an "It's a Boy" mailing explaining how the baby will be named. Here it is:

Namkaran is the traditional Hindu Indian practice of naming the baby child. Nama literally means 'name' and karana means 'to make, to effect'.

The Namkaran is held at home or in a temple where the father of the child whispers the name in the child's right ear. The ceremony usually takes place on the twelfth day after birth. Choosing a Hindu name is a difficult process.
According to the Grihyasutras, there are 5 requisites to selecting a name for the baby. This is the name that the child is will be called. It depends on the culture, religion & education of the family, and should be auspicious.
1. The name of the baby should be easy to pronounce and sound pleasant.
2. The baby name should contain a specified number of syllables and vowels. (We’re waiting on the family priest for this)
3. The name should indicate the sex of the baby.
4. The baby's name should signify wealth, fame or power.
5. The name should be suggestive of the caste of the family.