True to One's Name

A name is something bestowed on an individual by his or her parents/grand parents. I feel a lot of thought process would have gone into christening an offspring. I have been trying to analyse the names of near and dear ones and relate it to their personalities. In most cases I found that they lived up to their names. Among us Indians (read Hindus) the most common name for an offspring would be that of a God. Since our pantheon has far too many, there is never a shortage when it comes to names. It is said that most of our main deities have more than thousand names each to their credit. If the Hindu name is not directly that of a God’s then it at least has a Sanskrit connotation.
My father’s name is Bhaskaran, which is another name for the Sun God. I feel this name suits him ideally as he stands bright irrespective of where he is. My mother’s name is somehow different. She was named Leina after River Lena in erstwhile USSR. My grandfather having commie leanings, thought the names Ganga, Jamuna or Saraswathi would not do for his daughter. Being a totally alien name in the Kerala’s of the 30’s she was given a pet name Thangam, meaning gold. Hence my mother was uniquely bestowed with a name Leina Thangam. I envy her her name as I am sure that there may not have been another woman having a combination like that. She was one of her kind not only as far as her name goes, but also her personality.
I have heard my mother say that as far as me and my siblings’ names go, it was my father who was responsible. (Had it been left to my mother, we would have been named after Goddesses, and would have had a tough time living up to those names.) Being the eldest daughter of Bhaskaran, I think I was rightly named Usha (morning rays). I dearly strive to be a ray of hope and light in the lives of those depending on me. I don’t know if I have succeeded. My sister Latha, I think was named for the Voice of India, although her name does have a meaning namely creeper. I would like to think of her as a climber, as she has been an achiever. She has reached the pinnacle as far as her profession goes. My youngest sister is named Geetha, which could very well be for Geeta Dutt. Like most Geetha’s I know, I find her to be philosophical and with an opinion on all matters. That I think is natural; after all her name is part of the great Bhagwad Geetha!!!! Now taking the 3 names on a musical plane, there is no doubt that Latha stands far above the other 2 and this is true in the case of our family too. Had there been an Asha, things may have been different I guess.
I always felt that pet names marred the character of the person. My aunt has a beautiful name Susheela and true to her name she is an epitome of all things good. However her pet name is Babu. Now Babu is an unisex name, and on hearing that name one starts wondering right from the gender of the person. Then there is this uncle who is called Baby. He is anything but a baby and his idea in life is to always project a macho image. His given name is Ramunni and that I feel would have suited him to the T. Similarly I have another aunt whose name is Meenakshi, however she gets to be called Mani and then her brother in law who is also my uncle has the same pet name Mani (christened Narayanan Kutty). So when the family has a chat, we have to specify whether it is the male or female Mani we are referring to. One of the few people for whom the given name and the pet name seems to gel is that of my husband’s whose given name is Gopakumar and pet name Omanakuttan. Both have an element of endearment which seems fine with his personality.
It is very difficult for a person to live up to his or her name, especially when the name is an expression of one’s physical attribute. Take the case of Kamalakannan who lives in my neighbourhood, far from having eyes shaped like a lotus bud; it is hard to find his eyes when one looks into his face. Similarly I know of a Karkuzhali who was not bestowed with the black tresses that her name signifies.
People with a political mind set tend to name their children after great leaders. This again serves no purpose as the child seldom can be true to his name. Here in the South we have Lenin, Napolean, Stalin, Nehru, Gandhi and the likes. Wish parents would be more innovative!! After the success of the movie Aradhana, Rajesh was a very common name. This was followed by all kinds of names ending with a –esh. I think this stylized version of an original name is truly meaningless. In most cases the person thus christened does not have an identity of his own.
As of today, I have had the opportunity to christen four times. The first was in 1984 when my house was nearing completion. I decided to call it Sowparnika after the holy river in Mookambika Temple, Kollur. At that point the name was a novelty and many have asked me the source of the name. After 25 years, I can say that the house has lived to its name. It has been a sanctuary to many and has witnessed innumerable happy occasions. The next to get a name was our company. In 1997, when we were to open a Travel Agency, I suggested the name Magellan. After all he was the first person to circum navigate the earth. The name has been well appreciated and not a day goes when I don’t take credit for that. The third name I bestowed was on my daughter of whom I will write last. The fourth christening I did was for the Import Export Company I floated in 1999 which I named Mayur Impex. I felt Mayur being the national bird of India, the name stood for all things Indian. The name was selected as the best name in the export category and I was invited to Spain for the presentation.
My daughter is Sridevi. I know I have put a huge onus on her. I hope like Sowparnika and Magellan, she is able to lead a life, true to her name.