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Lucknow:
Here
Jayalalithaa takes Bal Thackeray on her lap when he sobs, Manmohan
Singh is fond of riding on Mulayam Singh's shoulders, while Kalyan
Singh and Rajnath Singh have no differences and love playing cricket
with Giani Zail Singh. The next one to join them could well be
Mayawati.
Daily wage
labourer Mithai Lal, 45, and his wife Chandrasena, 42, named their
seven children after the political leaders due to their belief that
this would bring good fortune to the family.
The couple expects
one more child later this year and hopes it will be a girl so that
it can name her after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati.
The family lives
in Jalalpur town in Uttar Pradesh's Ambedkar Nagar district, some
180 km from Lucknow.
"As I firmly
believe names can change one's destiny, I named my six sons and one
daughter after popular politicians of the country," Mithai Lal told
IANS over phone.
"I have full faith
that names would guide my children's future and one day they would
become as popular as the politicians," he added.
While 18-year-old
Mulayam Singh is the eldest son, the youngest Bal Thackeray is just
five months. The others sons -- Kalyan Singh, Giani Zail Singh,
Rajnath Singh and Manmohan Singh -- are 16, 15, 13 and five
respectively. Jayalalitha, the couple's only daughter, is eight
years old.
The eighth child
is expected in a few months and the couple hopes it is a girl.
"Despite coming
from a Dalit community, but braving all odds, Behenji (Mayawati)
emerged as one of the most powerful politicians of the country. We
too belong to the Dalit community and want to have a daughter who
could make her parents feel proud like Mayawati," said Chandrasena,
who came to know she was pregnant again a few days ago.
Like their
parents, the children too believe they will be able to achieve big
things one day due to their names. "It may come late to us, but I
believe all of us will attain popularity similar to that of the
politicians," said eldest son Mulayam Singh, who works as a private
tutor in his spare hours to augment the family income.
While it remains
to be seen whether the children will be able to live up to the
names, all of them have become quite popular in the district, and
Jalalpur is now known as the town where the "politicians' family"
lives.
Asit
Srivastava can be contacted at asit.s@ians.in
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