Little Gurman Singh Pangly doesn’t know it quite yet, but he’s caused quite a stir by arriving early on Jan. 1.
The tiny tot was born at around 3:15 a.m., making him Richmond’s first baby of 2015, a fact that has extended family members from India and England making plans to fly in sometime soon to celebrate his birth.
“It’s really good fortune being the first baby of the year,” said proud father Hardeep, 35.
Little Gurman was not expected until this week. That’s what the medical staff at Richmond Hospital projected a few days prior to New Years Eve when Hardeep took his wife Amanjit, 29, in for a check up.
Plus, their older son, four year-old Sukhman, was delivered about a week late.
“No, this one (Gurman), he was early. A big surprise,” said Amanjit who was not feeling comfortable enough to join her husband at the local Sikh temple on New Year’s Eve and stayed home that night.
“I took my cellphone with me and was holding it pretty tight the whole time I was at the temple,” Hardeep said. “Then, I get this call from Amanjit who said I’d better come home.”
And he did, quickly, then whisked his wife off to the hospital where a couple of hours later Gurman was born.
According to Sikh custom the first letter of a newborn child’s name is chosen at random from the Sheri Guru Granth Sahib, their central religious text.
“They open the book and use the first letter on that page,” Hardeep said.
While no date has been set, there’s been plenty of chatter in the past few days over the phone lines to organize a large family celebration.
And since Gurman was born, Hardeep said good luck has spilled over to his business dealings as owner of a concrete pumping firm.
“Gurman has brought good fortune to our family already,” he said. “Since he was born I’ve been able to get a number of pretty good contracts. It’s a good sign.
“It’s been wonderful. But most of all, we have two very healthy boys,” Hardeep added. “We feel so blessed.”
