What’s in a Name?

“What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” said the great playwright William Shakespeare. Dear friends, in the next couple of minutes I am going to prove Mr. Shakespeare wrong and make you believe that – at the end it’s all in a name.

Let me start with a story. Story of a name. Way back in the year 2006, a dear friend from a small town Meerut went down South to Chennai for a training program. On the first day of her program as she walked towards training room 106, her thoughts wavered from the hot humid weather of Chennai to spending the next 2 months with Sir Nagarajan Ramanujan, probably a 60 year old, bespectacled, bald and a pot-bellied man when a 30 year old, well-built, well dressed, good looking guy greeted her at the door. He said, ”Hi! I am Naga, naam tto suna hoga.” You must have heard my name. My dear friend was shocked, stunned and totally smitten by the sheer looks of Sir Nagarajan Ramanujan. Well, he welcomed her into the room and a round of introductions started. The usual round robin style. When half way through it was my dear friend’s turn – she shyly stood up (mermerised by Naga’s aura) and started – Sir, I am Upma, from Meerut, B Tech from Birla Technical University… when suddenly Sir Naga asked her to stop and repeat what she last said, Birla Technological Unversity, she stuttered. Back up further Meerut no further Upma. That’s when the well-meaning Sir Nagarajan broke into hysterical laughter. All you could hear was the echo of his loud laugh; there was pin drop silence otherwise. My embarrassed friend Upma, mustered some courage and  asked, “Sir, whats in my name?” to which he replied, my dear,  name like Upma in South is like calling someone a Parantha up north. With that, my friends the entire room including my dear Upma joined in the hearty laugh. And then, Shakekspeare says, “Whats in  a name?”

Have you ever wondered when we hear a name, our mind starts conjuring up images of the age, looks, personality, culture, gender of a person either because we’ve known a person by that name, or by our own interpreted meaning of the name or simply by the sheer sound of the name. Now, I am not sayig this out of thin air. Let me give you an example. What if you hear a name like Lallu or Nandu – a head full of oily hair, neatly combed, dressed in a loose shirt and pants or kurta pyjama with a gamcha or dusting cloth on the shoulder. Isn’t it? Well your smiles tell me you are with me. Lets take another name – Kanwar Devender Singh Shekhawat – tall, well dressed, princely stride. Closer home – Aastha – believable, trustworthy (and do you remember our Aastha’s speech during elections”) ok, last name – Plash – mr cool guy with a hair band – isn’t it?

And then, Shakepeare said, “what’s in a name?”

Interestingly, when my husband and I were to name our 3-month old baby, my very good looking handsome hunk cousin Ajitabh – pressed to call him Tejas. According to him, Tejas would make our son spearhead initiatives, win cut throat competitions, and always be on top. Why because Tejas means luster, shine, brilliance, power. But friends, we weren’t up for so much of Tej, so we decided to call him a sweet, melodious – Tanav, which literally means a flute.

And then Shakespear’s says “what’s in a name?”

Btw, any guesses what did Ajitabh name his son – the little baby is called Shamsher.

And then Shakespear’s says “what’s in a name?”

And then there’s the classic case of cute nicknames. So in every north indian family you’ll find either a guddu, gudiya, baby, baba, or a sonu. If not these, then definitely a fruit name from chikoo to litchi. And don’t be disheartened if you don’t have one, I’ll give you a quick tip – just slice off the last alphabet or two from your names and add a U or an I – so a Neha becomes Nehu, Rohan becomes Rohu, and me Deepti might end up becoming Dee poo.

And then, Mr Shakespeare says what’s in a name?