“What’s in a name”, the Bard put it across so innocuously; a lot
, I hope most would agree. It wasn’t always so, history is replete with
examples where they took pride in simply anointing the names of their parents,
ancestors on the new born. Wonder if they were really short of names(!) This
practice is prevalent in the West, with just a suffix of junior is considered
adequate to distinguish the two individuals. The senior George Bush and the
junior one, both were proud occupants of the Oval office of the White House,
the only case of father and son occupying the same office in US.
Goddesses, film and Cricket stars and or going with the latest fads of being
different, highly Sanskritised tongue twisters, which the poor child takes a
couple of years to pronounce correctly. Others of course twist the name to suit
their vocabulary or acquired skills in pronouncing. Even numerologists tinker
with the spellings of the name to seemingly assuage the Gods into showering
their bounty on these poor souls. So Ayushman Khurana becomes Ayushmaan
Khurranna, the name essentially remaining the same with just the spellings
being stretched to the limit for pleasing the Lords…
flavour of names was obviously quite patriotic, with kids being named after
Subhash Bose, Azad, Bhagat and even Jawahar were quite common. Girls were Kamla
(Nehru’s not so famous spouse) and Laxmi (after Rani of Jhansi) if not
Saraswati, Gauri or any other goddess. They took care to avoid naming these
girls “Seeta”, having read about the tribulations that she had to endure in
Ramayana. But gradually the Film industry and cricketers stars/ starlets
dominated the firmament and Dileep, Dev, Raj, Amitabh, Sunil, Sachin, Kapil
were dime a dozen. Similarly there were only Hemas, Rekhas, Meenas and Sadhnas
amongst girls.
taken to a different level altogether by some Tamilians, who have
taken ownership of many a foreign dignitaries’ names, the most famous
being Stalin, supposedly named after Comrade Stalin in the hey days of
communism. Can you imagine any Russian naming his kid Stalin? But our DMK
patriarch apparently felt that naming his progeny after the Russian dictator
was a testimony to Indo-Russian friendship. Or maybe he wanted to prove his
communist credentials and did not want to leave anything to chance. The
prodigal son today is the undisputed leader of DMK at least if not of
TamilNadu, his allegiance to the ideals of Marx and Lenin are at best
restricted to lip service. Similarly Kennedy, no not JFK, but our very own
indigenous Tamil anna, my driver in Wellington, is another on with a famous
name. But why single out the Tamilians, Punjabis are no less with their
penchant for abbreviating the names to suit their happy go lucky lifestyle. So
every second or third child is “Happy”, the first one is “Lucky”, of course
,and mind you they are gender neutral, so “Navjot” Singh is married to “Navjot”
Kaur, both are “newly illuminated” literally and metaphorically. A friend of my
son is “Marshall Goldsmith”, a strange and peculiar name in the land of Happys
and Luckys…. So out of curiosity when I asked the kid, he said his father is a
cricket aficionado and a fan of Caribbean Cricketers; Malcom Marshall was
amongst the most deadly pacers in the world in the 80s. Since he named him
Marshall, he thought a Singh as the surname would be out of place and Goldsmith
sounded power packed.
to name me Suyash more than half a century ago, I wish they had patented it, as
it was not just unique and different, I think I was probably the only homo
sapien with such a name. Yash was quite common but a mere prefix of “Su” went
on to qualify the fame associated with this innocuous sounding name. Little did
they realise then that I will probably be called by similar sounding names all
my life, the bane of having an uncommon name…… right from early childhood, the
first name one was mistaken with was “Suresh” which of course could be pardoned
after all it sounded alike and was much more common, except that more often
than not, the person at the other end refused to understand the subtle
difference the “re” made to my name and my very persona. After all with such a
unique name I had to be special! Then the modified version of my own name spelt
with an “e” rather than the “a”, ie Suyesh in place of Suyash. The name took a
different twist with the Yesh sounding as though one was the spoilt brat
indulging in the vices, as “Aish” in Hindi is synonymous with pursuit of
hedonistic pleasures. This tryst with twisted names continues till date….
Datta was a hard core Punjabi who could never get my name right and addressed
me as “Piyush”, “Siyush”, “Sayush” everything
except Suyash. My senior subaltern Capt ( later Col) Kulkarni started
calling me “Soyuz” as at least that my CO would get right. So Soyuz I was in the unit. This ordeal
of name calling (pun intended) has gone on ever since, I am not one to give up,
so dutifully correct everyone who goes about mispronouncing my name. This has
taken alarming proportions specially with the Information revolution suddenly
empowering the masses with the ubiquitous smart phones. The mere possession of
smart phones does not in any way make them smart is obvious as they leave no
doubt in my mind when they address me by the myriad versions of my name and I
have to get them to spell out the name and correct the pronunciation, even if
he/she is a tele-caller.
the shaping the personality of an individual. A unique different name bestows
on the individual an egalitarian persona, motivating him/her to strive for
excellence in order to stand out of the ordinary in every sphere. I am
obviously extremely proud of my name, for which the credit squarely goes to my
parents. Sure enough, I went ahead and named my kids also with unique names,
son being christened Abhijat, different from the common Abhijit, the
“a” making him quite “original” . The daughter is
“Ananya”, which means unique, as she goes about explaining very
proudly to everyone. I have not made their life easy…they have to endure their
share of name distorters…..
Original Comments:
Unknown (2019-02-11):
Nice one Su. The 'Yash' will follow…. Knoty
Unknown (2019-02-12):
Good
Shiv (2019-02-12):
Suyash…very witty as usual but equally well researched. Enjoyed reading your tryst with name calling !! Hope I could get it right everytime we interacted
C SPrabhakat (2019-02-12):
Great blog Suyash. Enjoyed reading it
Akshaya Handa (2019-02-12):
Interesting
Would have added my saga to it.
Having named me Akshaya (a tongue twister in itself and cause of why hardly anyone addresses me as such) an additional A was added in the end. Apparently based on the Sanskrit concept of the consonant never ending without a vowel (and cause of Ram becoming Rama, Ashok becoming Ashoka) explaining its existence has been a constant battle for me. While most of the people stick to Akshay some other variants include Akshaye, Akshe & Akshey. Oh well I guess there's nothing in a name but then getting it to match your aadhar card can sometimes be as troublesome as getting your face to match your photo on it.
Anonymous (2019-02-12):
Another advantage of having a unique name is that there is no confusion else in a class there are usually number of Rahul and Anjali after DDLJ
Sanjay (2019-02-12):
Su Yash….. good with fame……
Thank God ….I checked before posting……See what the spell check advises…..U will be surprised
Anonymous (2019-02-12):
Suyash
By staying unique all along, you have vindicated the wishes of your parents.
Happy blogging.
DM
Glad Gladiator (2019-02-12):
Even I went through this process! My name Aditya Singhal became Shingal, Single, Aditaya!! Even today… Some people called me Shingal even today!
Aditya became Adi more anglicized version!!!
Anonymous (2019-02-12):
A witty piece.. enjoyed reading it ..as always..it forces me to think as to how ..I have handled names in my life ..to make them well unique I turned them into tongue twisters
.. wondering may be it is time to add one two three after the names as we do with email addresses …say Khanna one and sons named as Khanna two and Khanna three..
After all great dynasties did that..
Or maybe we can keep life simple like old panjabi families…papu titoo chinny munnu or maybe what my parents lovingly called me… Tunnu…ha ha..uunique it was..well
What's in a name
Sofie (2019-02-12):
Nice…witty…liked it Suyash!!
Unknown (2019-02-12):
Well written sir! I would like to wish you Su Yash not only while blogging, but also in your career.
Sunil V Damle (2019-02-12):
Well written Suyash, enjoyed reading it
Abhijat (2019-02-12):
Very interesting and witty read! Indeed, 'originality' and 'uniqueness' are essential prerequisites to 'good fame' 😛
Amit Tripathi (2019-02-12):
Suyash your musings are rubbing on others in a positive way. More bloggers joining the bandwagon.
Keep blogging.
KPM Das (2019-02-12):
This is close to the heart for a fauji (in the nametab??), really. And surnames can add twists and turns too…..8 Jan 1975, filling up forms at the NDA, and when asked to fill in a surname I said I had none (where I came from it was infra-dig to display caste and surnames)….seriously, the clerk asked, I said yes. What followed was murder. That name which I carried all my school years and which was given by doting parents and all the rest of them was split down the middle without even a "by your leave" from the Academy……..the name on the I card then stuck for life; did try and make some feeble but vain attempts to apply for a change of name during early subaltern years……looking back, it helped. A short name, just three alphabets and saved me the blushes of friends messing around pronouncing an otherwise long mallu name….
Anand (2019-02-12):
“” I think I was probably the only homo sapien with such a name. Yash was quite common but a mere prefix of “Su” went on to qualify the fame “”——-Fame ,Name,Glory sab mil gaya,baaki ke liye kuch chod do ����
Aries (2019-02-12):
Interesting reading, Suyash. I empathise.
Regards,
Aries, Aris, Haris, Aryan, Aires and Arse.
Unknown (2019-02-12):
Wonderful blog! And I can so empathize given the added complications with non-Indian pronounciations for ‘Avani’
Col Jitendra Singh (2019-02-12):
Superb. Well written Suyash. It was an interesting reading. A good research on naming.
Arjun Israni@comcast.net (2019-02-12):
Dear Suyash, phenomenal article, very creative and hilarious. Laughed my head out. Thanks
Arjun Israni, Fellow Rimcollian in California, USA.
Sujay (2019-02-12):
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sujay (2019-02-12):
One more interesting and hillarious Blog .Minimum knowledge I could understand that "it is all in the Name".
Sheraz Varma (2019-02-13):
So you've had your Piscine Molitor Patel moments.. ..and knowing you ,you'd have made sure the value of Pi was known to the Hoi Polloi… Only this time it'd be the value of Su-Yash 35 (Sukhoi) … You've written from the heart and the ink has pumped through them Auricles to spill Aurum
AtulBeret (2019-02-14):
Good (Su) Yash!
Jatinder Singh Dhillon (2019-02-15):
Great sir. At least I could pronounce your name correctly. Hope you will vouch for that. Even I was named after the famous yesteryear star Jitender but as Jatinder to give a Punjabi touch so to say…..
Bhuppy Sharma (2019-03-06):
Excellent read.. Name – Though you're not born with it , but carry it to your grave.. Well written Soyuz
Anonymous (2024-02-21):
Beautiful Suyash. Ashutosh
Sofie (2024-02-21):
Such shenanigans provide satirical & comic relief. Its a matter almost as worthy as the debate between the Little-Endians and Big-Endians (Gulliver's Travels fame).
Anonymous (2024-02-21):
Nice read
Anonymous (2024-02-21):
Well written. Enjoyed reading it
Nilabh (2024-02-21):
Nicely penned down.
Anonymous (2024-02-21):
All is in a name these days with Panditji’s gutting their terms of reference after all planning has been done . With numerology the naming exercise has become a bit more intricate .
The current fashion of calling persons by abbreviated names has made names like Randhir a no no .
A nice subject and wonderful write up again Suyash . Keep them coming !!
Sudhir (2024-02-21):
Abhijat (2024-02-21):
Very funny take! The quest for unique names for babies in this generation has gone to such an extent that the names no longer need to mean anything, or be easy to pronounce (as with Elon Musk's progeny) !! I imagine that is not as much of a problem for the parents, as for the kids when they have to grow up and explain it to their peers. When it comes to naming animals, maybe we can resolve the issue by starting a numerological naming convention, such as Sher I and Sherni I 😛
M K Choudhary (2024-02-21):
Heartiest congratulations Suyash on your 201st Blog. Truly commendable
S.K. Dwivedi (2024-02-21):
Quite interesting blog that deserves all praise. The only name that I remember is Sita Ram.
Anonymous (2024-02-21):
Naming
Anonymous (2024-02-21):
Innocent naming accidents do take place in life. Son Ashish used to call himself 'Ashik Balma' as a tinytot & used to wonder why it amused everyone!! Beautifully highlighted the silliness that human beings can rise to.. Moorkhta ka dauraa kahin bhee prastut ho sakti hai…..
Suresh Yadav (2024-02-21):
Like Father You know how to play with words . Great
Suresh Yadav (2024-02-21):
Excellent Write up as usual . Keeps you engrossed . Congrats
Anonymous (2024-02-21):
Sir, very well written
Dr. Vivek Mathur Ph.D. Sports Medicine (2024-02-21):
Wonderful content…..Thanks for sharing.
Anonymous (2024-02-21):
Humorous …… yet thought provoking
Anonymous (2024-02-21):
Enjoyed and smiled while reading
Anonymous (2024-02-21):
Enjoyed reading
Avneesh (2024-02-22):
Excellent articulation
BS Bisht (2024-02-22):
Nice n interesting.Your litrary skills are almost matching that of William Shakespeare Suyash.Nice anecdote..
Brig vinod tandon (2024-02-22):
Congratulations on 201st post. Today google is most sought to name newly borns
Rohit Mehrotra (2024-02-24):
Compliments on churning out another Masterpiece – your 201st Post.
Brilliant writing as always. Enjoyed reading. All the Best.
Danny (2024-02-25):
Name is the name of the game. Low-hanging fruit. Our cities and now even the country which was always Bharat (the application to have the world call our own ocean the Bharatiya Ocean is being drafted).
Now the mane issue with names. Zoos could also do with some polarization, right? Are we getting really really weepy and touchy?
Rajesh Chaba (2024-02-25):
Nice subtle humour Suyash.
Vipul Segan (2024-02-26):
Nice write up
Enjoyed reading it
Sanjeev Pandit (2024-02-27):
A wonderful blog !
Anonymous (2024-03-02):
Beautifully written Sir. Looking fwd to read more