What is in a Name?

 

An Indian Marine Engineer, Saddam Hussain, was refused to be hired more than 40 times. Apparently, his grandfather’s idea to give his grandson a ‘powerful’ name spewed more power than intended. So he went to court and became Sajid.

But the wheels of bureaucracy are turning slowly – and so is his search for a job, reports a BBC article.

I chanced to meet an elderly couple at the airport when we were returning to Dubai. A smile was all it took to break the ice and get us talking. The elderly lady explained that her husband was a keen reader. They named their first born ‘Mona Lisa’ after the book that he was reading then.

I wondered aloud what book he must have been reading when their son was born and she explained that he had taken an interest in Indian Literature by then, hence the name ‘Suriya’ after the son God.

The lady must be relieved that the possibility of a third child was a slim possibility for them as the old man had his nose buried in ‘The World of Vikings’ by Justin Pollard!

Sid’s first words were ‘Igga’. It took a while for the new mother in me to grasp that my son was addressing me.

A friend hinted that ‘Igga’ was a reference for mother used by an ancient tribal group. This explanation was creepy than enlightening, but the husband found it funny.

I wondered if my un-evolved trait of amassing mud pots and pans or the fact that my children’s bizarre conquests and ideas that automatically caused my voice to rise a few decibels higher than is expected of a civilized mother had something to do with my tribal roots.

Luckily, the years have shown that my son is every bit civilized (at least for his age) but the name he chooses to address his mother remains unchanged.

How much does our name have significance in our life?

The first piece of information we have about a person is their name. How often do we get judged only by our names?

A girl named ‘Yamini’ (meaning night) could turn out to be as bright and cheery as a sunny day and a boy named ‘Khush’ (meaning happy) would sulk at the drop of a hat.

Will Michael with a surname Jackson be expected to do a moonwalk as his first baby steps or will the helpless Indian Saddam Hussain be accused of taking over as a dictator at his place of work?

But as the great Bard, one of the first names in Literature- William Shakespeare, once said, “What is in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”

Hello Friends, hope you all had a wonderful and safe Diwali. It is never too late to wish you and your lovely families all prosperity and joy this festive reason.  Hope this post will give you one more reason to smile this lovely Sunday.  Have a restful weekend. Enjoy !