Whats there in a name?
This is what we hear from people who have fancy, swanky names say to those people who have not been so lucky during their naming ceremony. I often wonder, what really inspires people when they name their kids. Do all people, take the time to find a meaningful, yet fancy name? I went through a big dilemma when I had to name my dog and my cat. Ultimately I ended up calling them with names which I don’t like now. If this is the case with my dog and cat, what happens to kids like Gogol, whose names get etched on a lead plate and they are screwed forever.
What is more surprising is, in the desire to retain the Indian tradition; Indians who live abroad end up naming their kids with long convoluted names which is a complete misfit in their society. With all due respect, I completely understand the zeal to live as an Indian especially out of India and not name their kid using western names but names such as Gollu, Mollu, Bhubey, Venkatanaarayana subburajulu, Govindaswamy are going to do nothing but further cause a dent in the kid’s perception towards their identity in a society. It is a different matter that kids eventually convert these into short western names but I am sure they would never forget those years when they would have got bullied & out-casted because of their name. I was all along thinking that this was only prevalent in Indian societies, but I was completely taken aback when I was reading an article about actress Gwyneth Paltrow who named her first born as Apple. So what next, do we have watermelons and cucumbers in the making?
Oh yeah! What’s with these celebrities and naming their Kids! They don’t pause to think that the kids are burdened with it for the rest of their lives! Maybe some kid will be called Matrix or Benzene or maybe Viagra!!!