Nomenclature Woes

"Whats in a name?" Thus spoke William Shakespeare. "Call a rose by any other name, it'll smell the same".

I am sorry to contradict you Mr Shakespeare, but you are wrong. Imagine if one of your publishers had published your 'Romeo and Juliet' in his name, would it have been the same? I guess that person would have been famous instead of you, would have topped all the literary 'most important lists' and would have been the first name in the literary 'hall of fame'. Of course, you may have been famous even in this scenario, but not as the writer but as the person who filed numerous lawsuits and alleged (so audaciously!) as Mr X having commandeered his works! And yes, the conspiracy theorists of the present generation would have unearthed your name to tarnish Mr X's reputation rendering him all the more popular.

A name gives a person his/her identity. It conjures up a vision in front of the eyes of a particular person. It brings back memories. Most important of all, you know who/what is being referred to.

I myself had the privilege of going through various names (nicknames excluded, they may be dealt with later, if the urge comes upon me). When I was born (as does everybody), I was given a name on my 11th day in this world after due consultations with a Panditji. I don't remember the name exactly because 1) I was too young at the time 2) that name was never used because my maternal grandfather (who himself was a Pandit)found out that the earlier chap had miscalculated and so my name should be different. Thus my first name got discarded. The only thing I remember is that it started with F. Guess, i got spared from the F name ;).

So, after due calculations, my grandfather gave me a name. The auspicious letter was 'Dh', so I was named Dharmraj (after the Hindu God of Dharm). Thus I got my second name- the name that has to be used in the official religious rituals and ceremonies.

My dad didn't seem satisfied though. He seemed to have thought out a name for me and so, I was named a third time and thus came to take my present name. But it wasn't the same as what it is now. I used to be called 'Binay'. The 'B' was replaced when I reached the 8th standard and when I took a fancy to the twenty-second letter of the alphabet. Thats how my name came to be associated with me in its present form.

I have always been fascinated with names. The more uncommon they get, the more I like them. (I must mention that I was not entirely satisfied with my present name too. But its too late in time to change it again, i guess. Anyway, its a pretty decent one). So, when my uncle delegated the task of naming my cousin-sister (the only girl child in our family), you may guess my situation. I had to find something uncommon, something that would stand out yet would be likable. I hammed and hawed for around six months (thank God! the kid couldn't speak. Imagine yourself without a name for six months) and when the pressure became too much, I delved into the Ramayana and came out with a name that was both interesting, uncommon and mythological. Thats probably the last time I'll be naming someone.

I faced the same problem with my blog. This blog went through exactly three sets of names before arriving at its present name. It started as '4 your eyes only' inspired from the James Bond flick. And when I got fed up with the name, I decided to change it. After much soul (and name) searching, since I could not arrive at something likable, I just let it be 'Vinay's Weblog'. The urge to rename appeared all of a sudden yesterday. After almost one hour of continuous staring at the screen, i came upon a name. As I pressed the edit button, my mind said 'i found it'. So, the name changed once more and came to assume its present form. Don't know how long it shall last...

So, whats in a name? An identity. A story of how it came into being. A reflection of a person (and maybe his/her ideas). And maybe more...

Thats why I say Mr Shakespeare, you are wrong.