Anatomy of nomenclatures

What’s in a name? A rose is a rose and smell as sweet, call it by any name.

So said Shakespeare! The truth in these words is universal, timeless and eternal. I named my first-born son Tathagat; which is Lord Buddha’s stage of enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. Therefore, the name embodies spirit of renunciation, enlightenment and salvation yet my boy is far remotely attached to these virtues. He is attached to materialistic pursuits and can not rest until he gets what he has set his craving heart on. All the wisdom imparted to him about the virtues of human character to be above materialistic pleasures leaves no impression on his hedonistic senses. But name does bear resemblance to his character in one way, that is, he is a kind-hearted altruistic soul and his heart goes out to the underdog. His teachers eulogize praises and classmates herd around him; a phenomenon I observe during PTMs and I can never expect him to derive sadist pleasure seeing someone in a fix; something the yet- to- develop- conscience children indulge in. Another time he stands true to his name when he shows his intellect in small things and the fact that he has a fertile mind which puts him in the top league though competiveness and ambition are yet to take root in his mind. He is lackadaisical and has no qualms if someone else surpasses him in rank except feeling remorseful with regard to being denied the cherished object as prize. For rest of things, he loves to steer clear of the sublimely spiritual connotations that his name may hold but loves to bask in glory of having a unique name; a rarity in the rustic Jatland! My personal name for him would be “Aalsi Jeev” meaning thereby “Lethargic being”.

 Now the second born was named Maitreya; after protracted arguments over a befitting name. He is also named after Lord Buddha; Maitreya  is the avatar of Buddha that shall come in this world and be the harbinger of peace and contentment.  Well, the little one did battle the odds of survival and emerged a winner in true sense of the word but anything about his traits stands against the meaning of name. He bangs head if denied his pleasures and is given to tantrums if some wish left unfulfilled; an embarrassment I didn’t have to face with regard to older one. This one is possessive about his space and already has a clear sense of his desires. He loves to wear what is new and delighted with spicy treats while has to be force-fed with nutritious food.  However, the positives this naughty boy has are way many – he is deeply attached and loves to cuddle unlike kids who prefer to break free (maybe this has to do with the kangaroo treatment meted out to him in initial months of life in order to help his weight grow fast) and very generous in matters of blowing kisses after putting the persons (father and brother; he never had the nerve to combat with me) in combative battles and ever generous to impart service of hands to their faces.. He is feather light and glides on toes like a graceful belle dancer and balances on backs and chests of the other two males in the family, even rolls on the ball. I would name him “bechain atma – restless soul”

 These boys wear Buddha as their glorious crown yet fall short of illuminating my life with that much-coveted moment of peace as with these defiant souls hovering around, vocal chords work overdrive*buddham sharnam ghachhami* 

About the rest of us two – Pravin (meaning expertise, excellence) stands true to his name as he is a versatile guy – electrical engineer who works in the civil engineering department with a bit of medicine thrown in and oodles of artistry of doodling kind in him (my sixth sense says he must be far better than the many academic civil engineers as his in-depth understanding of concepts and learning is excellent and he has learned his craft on field). He is a reliable guy to have around with a plumber, electrician; actually a fixer in one package. Beneath the lazy morning veneer lurks a tenacious night person but someone who needs a push to be propelled higher. He is a virtuoso in spewing and fuming bitterness but then he is a naive pure soul so we drink the bitter with the sweet (my desired name for him is neem-karela quinine concoction).

 For myself, I stand false to my name. Nidhi, which means treasure/one who is endowed with good qualities, has found complete disapproval with my persona. With regard to the first meaning, I incur huge monetary losses to the boss during my shopping trips because like my older son; I want everything under the roof that shelters me in that hour. The second meaning has yet to see light of the day and I wait with bated breath for some latent talents to emerge. I guess they would prefer to call me “bhatakti atma” – haunting soul since I am forever with my antennas up and can sense them being up to something even with eyes and ears closed. However, there is one silver lining as I find the boys completely dependent on me in the field of verbosity.  I love words to desperation and sometimes it is my forte` as the two guys forever consult me what they can’t decipher.

 For the rest, life is beautiful, interesting and full of tales that would have not been our tales and anecdotes had we not been crowned with certain names. Therefore, our nomenclatures become raison d` etre for our being ourselves

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