Shakespeare has said, 'What's in a name, a rose by any other name is still a rose'!
I beg to differ from the Bard of Avon on this one......
Let me start off by my own name, Azfar .......people find different ways of calling me.......I have been given the exalted status of being called 'Ishwar' ईश्वर (meaning GOD) to the depth of degradation , 'Aa Suwar' (meaning 'Come here, Pig !).
When I was in school, my Geography teacher had the habit of starting sentences with 'As Far....', to which I would stand up thinking she is calling my name, only to be rebuked by her that she was saying 'As far as this was concerned.....'. This used to leave the class with a lot of amusement and me with a lot of embarrassment.
I beg to differ from the Bard of Avon on this one......
Let me start off by my own name, Azfar .......people find different ways of calling me.......I have been given the exalted status of being called 'Ishwar' ईश्वर (meaning GOD) to the depth of degradation , 'Aa Suwar' (meaning 'Come here, Pig !).
When I was in school, my Geography teacher had the habit of starting sentences with 'As Far....', to which I would stand up thinking she is calling my name, only to be rebuked by her that she was saying 'As far as this was concerned.....'. This used to leave the class with a lot of amusement and me with a lot of embarrassment.
Anyway, after coming across many people with names that are frankly......as they say in hindi - Hatt ke - I thank my parents for giving me a rather dignified name.
Someone told me that they know a person named - Bhikari - which literally means a 'Begger'. When I asked why the parents had inflicted such a lifelong torture on their son by naming him such, I was told that this is because this son was born to the parents after many years when they were blessed by a Bhikari (a fakir or a enlightened mendicant). Well, the parents' wish came true but the poor son was left wishing all his life 'Aakhir Kyon??' (why me??) !!
Someone told me that they know a person named - Bhikari - which literally means a 'Begger'. When I asked why the parents had inflicted such a lifelong torture on their son by naming him such, I was told that this is because this son was born to the parents after many years when they were blessed by a Bhikari (a fakir or a enlightened mendicant). Well, the parents' wish came true but the poor son was left wishing all his life 'Aakhir Kyon??' (why me??) !!
Then there are parents who leave no stone unturned. I have another colleague named -
Augustus Daniel Ray Michael Chandra Doss
In this context we know of the all too common practice in India of having the name of so many Gods and Goddesses the child's name that his/her success in life becomes fool-proof.
The former Indian Leg-Spinner - Laxman Sivaramakrishnan - had 4 Gods in his name....just one of many such examples.
We had the case of a young Indian Chennai Super Kings player's name - Napolean Einstien.....a perfect combination, if ever there was one.....
While we are on names....a real incident ......in one of our meetings a British colleague informed with a straight face....'We have a lady joining the India team, her name is 'Security Pune'....we were taken aback by the unusual name. When we checked the mailbox later, her name was 'Sukuriti Pur naye' !!
Another real incident.....one of my British managers was taking the interview of my Indian Team member named Kamini (a very sweet Indian name meaning an 'enchantress'). Throughout the interview she kept calling her कमीनी instead of कामिनी !! Can't blame the British lady that just the emphasis on the wrong syllable had converted the name into a vile Indian abuse. We in the interview room found it very difficult to to control our laughter........though poor Kamini had the toughest interview of her life......
My uncle had a nieghbour named S. Ale Mustafa. Mr Mustafa had a big name plate in front of his main door. Some mischievous fellow erased the 'dot' after the 'S' in the name plate which now became 'Sale Mustafa'.......giving a rather undignified twist to his name......
Then there are numerous cases of our South Indian friends having a tough time (particularly in America) due to their names.
I had a colleague in US named Vishwanathan Kamasamudram. I went with him to get our Identity card photo taken. When his turn came to be called, the lady calling out the names took a long pause and announced with a straight face - 'Man with the Long Name'. My friend was so used to this that he got up immediately.......He had learnt his lesson.....very soon he was seen introducing himself as 'Nathan Kamas'. This single act won him many American friends !!
Then there was this case of a guy named Anatharaman Subbaraman, waiting for more than 2 hours for his name to called for an US visa interview. When at last he asked angrily why his name has not been called when people who were after him were called, he was told 'We have been calling out for ANOTHER MAN SUPER MAN for the last 2 hours' !!!!
In short, names do matter.................
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My friend Jitesh Sharan has informed me that there is a dhaba in Punjab named 'PK Tunn'....
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