WHAT IS IN A NAME?

Memory tag: Names do matter.

What’s in a name… a rose by any other would smell as sweet… is clichéd and as old as its apparent creator William Shakespeare. But names do matter. A world of difference separates Yashoda from Devaki. Yet we forget, they were equally blessed to be so close to the Lord. Names can and do matter. They represent associations of ideas, contexts with their subjects. Nightingale is a bird, add Florence and it conjures up images of nursing and the Lady with the Lamp. Charles, one of the most common Christian names, when coupled with Darwin becomes uniquely synonymous with evolution. The market value of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi is immeasurably increased as Mahatma Gandhi went by the same surname. In reality one would actually be referring to the daughter in law and grandson of Feroz Gandhi. It is presumed the famous have a famous pedigree.

On the other side of the coin, I once met a famous scientist who, in spite of his coming from an extremely paternalistic society used his wife’s surname, as she was equally famous. A true complement or/ and share of brand name? Are we oft reminded by the names of great men that we too can leave footprints on the sands of time? So, we name ourselves, our children, our various enterprises after them, hoping to be shareholders in their fame, fortune and character. Remember the rich, famous and upwardly mobile Richard Cory that was the envy of all, in Simon and Garfunkel song of the same name? Well, Richard Cory went home that night and put a bullet through head! No one takes the name of the infamous/ villainous/unlucky/ Lucifer, for rear of being touched by the same evil. Post Iraq/ Kuwait a child named Saddam Hussain still raises eyebrows.

A naval officer is popeye to kids: a fat person “kaddu” or pumpkin. Connotations change. A few decades ago, Maggi would have meant Margaret Thatcher, the British Prime Minister to the slightly general knowledge savvy. Today it means curly quick snack noodles packed into yellow packets that are universally sold from malls to hole in wall shops. Marketing, I am told makes all the difference. A teacher and IT professional are both part of the knowledge industry. Yet they don’t walk on the same street. Brand difference! Our Gods have new names Levi, Gucci, Tissot, McDonalds, Baskin Robbins; the list goes on. The right brand ensures the gates of heaven will open for you. What would the modern picture of heaven be? A free for all brand haven? And hell, a license raj?

Francis Crick, could have said to his DNA structure co discoverer, James Watson ,‘Elementary my dear Watson, DNA is a double helix! Just like Sherlock Holmes, the detective! TATA could mean a wave, a goodbye but more frequently iodized salt, eau de cologne ( to my father),trucks, cars , JR or Ratan, excuse the familiarity; this empire has too long been part of our collective Indian consumer consciousness. ‘Thakur’ stretches from God, to feudal lords to the poet laureate of India. He prayed for a heaven of freedom into which this great country would awaken. Today, a day after our Independence Day celebrations and two days after Janmastami, we still have our demons and wait for an avatar to set us free from human bondage!

In this context, freedom is probably the most abused word in the name of freedom. It is the excuse to behave as we want, many a time irresponsibly. We forget it is the reason to behave as we should, with responsibility. So Jai Hind or Jai Ind ? Is the former a shorter message version of the latter because we are more India than Hindustan today? To split hairs would be to destroy,’ Sare jahan se accha , Hindustan hamara’. For in a name lies a worthy adjective.