Sweet names..!

Sometimes I wonder about names people have, even as adults: I remember this ain't of mine, she was called Baby Aunty! Baby Aunty was anything but a babe and quite formidable a woman, and every time she was addressed as such I wondered whether she cringed inside, till I found it didn’t bother her a bit.
“Why is she called Baby Aunty?” I asked.
“Because she was the baby of the house!” replied my mother and looked at me to see whether there was anything wrong with that. “The same way I called you….”
“Let it be!” I said hastily before my children heard.
And there are many thousands like Sweety Baba and Baby Aunty who’ve outlived their pet names but find such appellations still clinging tight to them. “Shiny!” says the father looking down at his newborn girl.
“Ah she’s wet with perspiration, I told you we should have got an AC room!” complains the tired mother from her hospital bed
“Shiny,” says the grandmother as she walks in, “That’s a nice name!”
And Shiny it is and to differentiate the name from the beads of perspiration that gave it, its title, a letter ‘e’ is inserted and it becomes Shiney. Yeah I know, sometimes they shine in the limelight for all the wrong reasons right?
Baba is one that sticks on, and quite often most households have one, especially when baba is preceded by a host of sisters. “You got another baby?”
“No Baba! Come Baba say something to this kind uncle?”
“Baba!”
“How chweet!”
For many years there would sometimes appear on our doorstep an uncle by the name of Bunkle. He was a great storyteller and regaled us with his tales of war and adventure, most of which I learnt later were true. He had been I believe a colonel in the army and had been court-martialed for slapping a senior officer, a Britisher, which put an end to his rising career and made him a rolling stone after that.
“Why are you called Bunkle?” I asked him one day.
“Guess?” he said.
“You bunked work?”
“Hey that’s a good enough reason,” he said and left it at that.
“Why was he called Bunkle?” I asked my mother many years later.
“Baba Uncle,” said my mother, “You children found that too long and shortened it to Bunkle!”
So the Baba lives on and so does Sweety and also Shiney. All sweet, lovable babies once; it’s when they commit crime and land in jail that its difficult for the world to swallow that lil’ Sweety Baba is now in the slammer.
I wonder how his cellmates feel knowing they’ve got Sweety Baba for company or Shiney for that matter?
Did I hear Bunkle laugh up yonder?
    
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Sweet names..!

Sometimes I wonder about names people have, even as adults: I remember this aint of mine, she was called Baby Aunty! Baby Aunty was anything but a babe and quite formidable a woman, and every time she was addressed as such I wondered whether she cringed inside, till I found it didnt bother her a bit. Why is she called Baby Aunty? I asked. Because she was the baby of the house! replied my mother and looked at me to see whether there was anything wrong with that. The same way I called you. Let it be! I said hastily before my children heard. And there are many thousands like Sweety Baba and Baby Aunty whove outlived their pet names but find such appellations still clinging tight to them. Shiny! says the father looking down at his newborn girl. Ah shes wet with perspiration, I told you we should have got an AC room! complains the tired mother from her hospital bed Shiny, says the grandmother as she walks in, Thats a nice name! And Shiny it is and to differentiate the name from the beads of perspiration that gave it, its title, a letter e is inserted and it becomes Shiney. Yeah I know, sometimes they shine in the limelight for all the wrong reasons right? Baba is one that sticks on, and quite often most households have one, especially when baba is preceded by a host of sisters. You got another baby? No Baba! Come Baba say something to this kind uncle? Baba! How chweet! For many years there would sometimes appear on our doorstep an uncle by the name of Bunkle. He was a great storyteller and regaled us with his tales of war and adventure, most of which I learnt later were true. He had been I believe a colonel in the army and had been court-martialed for slapping a senior officer, a Britisher, which put an end to his rising career and made him a rolling stone after that. Why are you called Bunkle? I asked him one day. Guess? he said. You bunked work? Hey thats a good enough reason, he said and left it at that. Why was he called Bunkle? I asked my mother many years later. Baba Uncle, said my mother, You children found that too long and shortened it to Bunkle! So the Baba lives on and so does Sweety and also Shiney. All sweet, lovable babies once; its when they commit crime and land in jail that its difficult for the world to swallow that lil Sweety Baba is now in the slammer. I wonder how his cellmates feel knowing theyve got Sweety Baba for company or Shiney for that matter? Did I hear Bunkle laugh up yonder? [email protected]