Well, I’m going to assume most of you know about Frodo and Bilbo; the most famous Uncle and Nephew in the History of Forever!!
But today, I’m here to talk about the person, who is Frodo to my Bilbo…
I might not have had a near deadly encounter with Smaug, but I think I’m adventurous enough to annoy a lot of people.
Everybody knows, my sister is like a second mother to me, and that 13 years of age difference mean, taking both me and my nephew into account, she has successfully raised/raising two children in her 39 years of existence.
But, this is not about her and not about me…
This is about the relationship I’ve craved the most for…
I was in class 7 or 8… Hopelessly in Love, and heartbroken, so I wrote a very far-fetched story about my soon-to-be-doomed future; even then… I imagined my sister would have a son one day (hold on your horses, feminists… I was 16 and heartbroken… do the math).
And then he came to the world; country of his birth was USA, so unlike India, we knew about his gender well before the birth, and my sister and brother-in-law being the avid nature lover they are, named him “Aaronyok”- after the famous Novel by Bibhutibhusan Bandyopadhyay.
Now, every Bengali household has this heritage of Extravagant yet Embarrassing pet names. My sister called me ‘Bulai’ so he became ‘Kutai’…
And then there was the time when I had to give him a pet name of my own. For a long time, I wanted to call him ‘Gablu’ (the Bengali Name of ‘Henry – by Carl Thomas Anderson). But Gablu is somewhat common of a bengali name- but I wanted something unique, something different…
Then It came to me….
FRODO… BAGGINS…
Because, it fits… An uncle who left a ‘story’ for his nephew…And when he grew up, his adventure and story surpassed his uncle’s and became humongous (or hobbitous)…
Because if ‘There and Back Again’ was a story, ‘Lord of the Rings’ was a saga…
I know… I am geeking out…But, just let me explain…
The Hobbit, is not about any dragon, and LOTR was never just about destroying a ring and saving the world… It was about legacy, family and friendship and how a small nudge out of the door lands us in a life full of unexpected adventures.
Just like the life brought me Frodo… Watching him is like watching myself grow up. So, in a way I feel he is the greatest adventure I’m ever going to have…
My… Precious…
Peace…
Neel…
It’s his Birthday on 6th of February… I thought this might be a gift he will appreciate once he is older… I guess…
Happy 5th Birthday, Frodo Baggins…
Libberish 