Welcome to the world at 11.11 on 11.11.11

At 11.11am on Friday, the Fernandes family welcomed its first grandchild. As the baby wrapped in a pink towel was brought to room number 1107 of Dr LH Hiranandani Hospital in Powai, the family from Andheri could barely contain their joy.

At 11.11am on Friday, the Fernandes family welcomed its first grandchild. As the baby wrapped in a pink towel was brought to room number 1107 of Dr LH Hiranandani Hospital in Powai, the family from Andheri could barely contain their joy.

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"From choosing a room on the 11th floor of the hospital building to fixing the time of birth, we had planned everything in advance," said Siddharth Fernandes, 26, the ecstatic father. "Our obsession with the number began in January, when my cousin delivered her daughter on 01.01.11."

While some deliveries were planned months in advance for the palindrome date, a few others were destined to happen. The night before Shalini Kedia was wheeled into the operation theatre on Friday, she was gulping pani puris at Matunga. She underwent a sonography later, which revealed that she could not wait for a normal delivery.

"I could not see her in pain and wanted her to get operated in the next available slot," said Kedia’s husband Saurav. "The uniqueness of the date sunk in when congratulatory messages started pouring in, turning my son into a hero at birth."