What's in a Name??

 Such a thought had arisen in mind of one of the disciple of The Buddha centuries ago. Of course, the path taken by that disciple to find out the truth and the path taken by me are simply Poles apart. 

In late 70's there was a photocomics "Secret Agent -Vikram" that was published in popular Kannada weekly Magazine "Sudha" My 2 Aunts were crazy fan of that Fictional hero, so much so that they had decided "If Akka (elder Sister) delivers a boy, we will name him Vikram" . Thus, they had my naming ceremony done even before I had entered into this world.

I entered this world and grew up as Vikram, albeit I never became a secret agent or any kind of Hero for that matter.

It was a formality to insert initials of Father Name's first letter before our name in official documents. So I joined school as "S. Vikram" (Shamanna being my father's name, the Initial S was prefixed). So much of prominence was given to initials that I even introduced myself as "S Vikram" much to amusement of others.

As I entered class 10, we were asked to verify the spelling , Initials, and date of Birth for their correctness, since they would be reflecting on our 10th Marks sheet (which is the most sought after age proof at many places before Passport/ Aadhar or any other forms of ID).

We were given 3 days to check and confirm. 

V-I-K-R-A-M- S, however hard I tried, I didn't need 3 days to check this. When the 10th Marks sheet came the Initials came after our name, so I got promoted from "S. Vikram" to "Vikram .S"

After my graduation, when applying for passport the application form read "NAME (Expanded Initials)"

Vikram S, got converted to Vikram Shamanna. Shamanna was referred to as Surname in my Passport.

Until then, there was no Surname associated with my name. My real tussle with my Name/Surname started from here, especially after I joined Shipping Industry as a Marine Engineer.

Shipping industry had various regulations due to which we had to undergo stringent medical procedures, undergo various trainings, apply for various certifications, apply for promotional exams  and get certified through Ministry of Shipping. 

In each of the above instances the applicants were called one by one by the attendants of Mercantile Marine department (Ministry of Shipping) or the attendants in Medical Examination centre or any other place.

During one such instance, I was waiting to be called and the Peon screamed "Shamant, Samant.." irritated at no response he screamed "Vikram", I immediately stood up like a soldier in full attention.

"Kab se bulaa raha hoon, jawab kyun nahin dete ho??" (I have been calling you for so long, why cant you just answer? ) he said with a bit of irritation in his tone. It was then the reality dawned upon me that the Shamant, Samant  he was referring to was none other than me. 

Many thought my name was Samant and began to converse with me in Marathi. I had earned a new identity on that day without any effort. 

But there was one more thing I had carried along, the apprehension of not knowing when my name will be called, for I could not comprehend how my name would be pronounced.

In another instance I was waiting to be called when the Peon called out "Sharma" when there was no response he called out other names and slowly almost everyone had been called. After what seemed like eternity, I went and asked the Peon when will my name be called, he referred his list and said "Sharmaji, sabse pehle aapka hi naam bulaaya tha" (Sharmaji, You were the first person to be called)

In the Brahmin house hold, there are rituals where the younger ones tell the Abhivaadaye (a ritual where a brief introduction about themselves detailing their Gotras (Lineage) and finally their name before falling at the feet of elders to seek blessings). In that ritual my name appears as Vikram Sharma, and I was mesmerised that my name has been called out in the most divine manner in the powerful corridors of Ministry of Shipping.

My colleagues who were lazy to call me Shamanna, just shortened it and addressed me as Sham. So Sham, Shamant, Samant, Sharma all became synonyms to my name.  At one point of time I felt like responding to any random name that was called, which my colleagues found amusing.

In one instance, I had gone to accounts department of my company for some clarification. 

Without lifting his head he asked me Naam Bataao (Tell me your name).

I just said "Vikram". He was not satisfied and further asked Poora naam bataao (Tell me your full name) Vikram Shamanna, I said very clearly.

Spelling Bataao he said as he pulled out his pen like a sword and ready to strike the paper with my name. He split the word Shamanna into "Sham" and "Anna" Then he did an analysis, Sham Matlab Krishna, Anna matlab Bade Bhai, Krishna ka bade Bhai, Balram, Aapka naam Vikram Balram" (Sham- Meaning Krishna, Anna- meaning Elder brother, that means elder brother of Krishna, Balram, your name is Vikram Balram!!) he said with a victorious smile. 

In 15 years of my shipping career, somebody for the first time not only pronounced my name correctly but also gave a new dimension by changing my name itself. I stood there dumbstruck not knowing how to react.

But I just could not understand one thing, People could pronounce "Sham" and "Anna"  clealrly when pronounced separately. God knows what ails them when they pronounce it as one word.

I was pulled away from my wandering thoughts when the courier delivery guy called out "Shamanna".

Me and my dad both rushed towards courier, my dad who reached before me received the courier that was meant for him and looked at me in amusement and asked "He was obviously calling out my name, why did you rush??? Did you even forget your name???" he walked away laughing.

Had me pondering, Did I really forget my name?? If so, Who's responsible for it? 

Finally that Million dollar question popped up "What's in a name??" 

(Ironically, it has everything except my name)

 

Urvashi, No Take it easy Policy

                                            A Magical Experience called Urvashi.

It was era of 1993~94 wherein a new age music director had taken the nation by storm and Bengaluru was no exception. His name sold like Magic, the name was AR Rehman. 

After his first hit of "Roja", he had come up with another blockbuster called "Thiruda-Thiruda" with westernised beats. The music album was released much before the movie and it had made fans eagerly wait for the movie to release. The beats used in the song "Konjum Niluvum" had made the fans go crazy.  

 

It was the dark era of Cauvery dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, but art was beyond all politics and conflicts. The movie released to packed houses and people just went crazy. Although, it was released in various theatres, every body had the same feedback, "If at all you watch the movie, watch it in Urvashi theatre and nowhere else." 

I did watch, and honestly, it was not a movie, it was an experience and an amazing one at that. 

I don't understand music, nor am I qualified to comment about nuances of music, but the notification  before the start of the movie "This theatre is equipped with Dolby Stereo" made all the difference.

I could not pin point what exactly it was, but I felt the music and sound effects in this theatre was different compared to other theatres. The clinging sound of printing machines, the chugging of the train in the movie all felt so surreal as if all of it was happening within the theatre. 

When the song "Kannum-Kannum" started the whole theatre had gone into celebration mode. Surprisingly, I heard that the movie did not do well in Tamil Nadu, and in Bengaluru it was a Smash hit.

 

But, the real game changer was when the movie "Kaadhalan" released and the song "Oorvasi-Oorvasi" sounded more like a dedication to Urvashi theatre and this time the theatre had danced along with Prabhudeva.

From there on, the name AR.Rehman and Urvashi theatre became synonyms. The list of movies released goes on, Bombay, Dil Se, Rangeela, Kaadhal Desham  and so on. If AR Rehman is a craze in Bengaluru, he owes it to Urvashi theatre.

Various other movies also had their fortunes ringing here, In Titanic for instance, the scene where the Engine direction is changed to avoid colliding with Iceberg was so natural that it felt as if a Piston is operating right next to me. It was not loudness of the sound, but the frequency and the feel of sound which made the difference, and this, created memories for most of us who watched movies in this magical place.

Change is the only thing that is constant, the era of Multiplexes started seeping in around 2003~04 and many single screen theatres started slowly making way for multiplexes and some demolished to be replaced by commercial complexes. 

Amidst the changing dynamics of the city with respect to real estate, despite the OTT craze among people, and the drop in footfalls for movies even in multiplexes, Urvashi still stood strong and screened major blockbusters like KGF, Kantaara, Avatar etc.

Alas, the prevailing dispute between land owner and the theatre operator ended up in litigation and now the owners of the property have decided to shut down the legendary theatre in February 2026. The Screen will be permanently down.

Although the memories will be cherished, its tragic that there wont be any new memories in this legendary theatre. 

The lines, "...Take it easy Policy" from the song Oorvasi-Oorvasi will not be applicable here, this policy cant be taken easily. 

Miss you dear Urvashi.

Blinded by Ignorance

It was the usual summer evening in Bengaluru way back in 2013~14.

I had set out myself towards JP Nagar and was waiting for the bus at bus stop. 

Since it was a summer evening there was not much of a crowd. 

Usually the buses towards JP Nagar operated at a frequency of 3~5 minutes, but to my dismay, not a single bus had come even after waiting for good 20 minutes.

I waited aimlessly at the bus stop cursing the BMTC buses, the Bengaluru traffic and whatever i could think of to blame.

As i was deeply engrossed in my thoughts, a bus stopped at the stand and a visually impaired youth got down beating his stick to the ground and waving his hands in the air to find his way towards the bus stop.

A senior citizen who was sitting next to me immediately darted towards the youth and guided him to bus stop and made him sit next to me. 

The visually impaired youth thanked the senior citizen and went on to explain that it is due to such kind hearted people he has been roaming around entire Bengaluru city in public transport and told him that almost every day there is somebody to guide him into right path.

I kind of felt sorry for the youth and also felt happy that he's being guided by people towards right path in his daily life 

Meanwhile, I could not refrain myself from venting out my frustration about how the bus towards JP Nagar which was very frequent had not come from past half-an hour.

The visually impaired youth immediately turned towards me and said "Sir, why are you waiting here, you should be going to the Bus stop at the other side" he gestured his hand showing the right direction towards the bus stop where i should have actually gone.

Cursing my ignorance and stupidity, I thanked him from bottom of my heart and headed towards the correct bus stop with lot of embarrassment.

The moment i reached the right bus stop, the bus arrived within 5 minutes

As i got into the bus, my mind began pondering the below thoughts

While i was blinded by my own ignorance and treading the wrong path,

he in his blindness came along as a guide and showed me the right path.

 

Letters of My Life

I always wondered how the writing bug caught up with me and continues to bug me in its own way even in these days of Scraps, Wall postings and Instant Messages.I just had an introspection into my own life in a bid to find the answers for my questions. I couldn't find out the exact epicenter of the problem, but managed to realise that the desire to write sprouted up sometime during my childhood days.

Those were the days when the communication was limited to letters and the luxury of talking over the phone(Yes, it was a Luxury to talk over phone) was limited to privileged few. I remember how my father used to purchase Inland Letter Covers from Post-office (those cute blue coloured ones) and would write out letters to his siblings, parents and In-laws. I fondly remember how as a little kid I'd go on my knees beside him and read aloud each and every  word he wrote, much to his annoyance. He would promise me the liberty to write out last few lines if i could shut my mouth until he finished his letter.  Perhaps that's how it began. I'd wait patiently until he finished and left me with some space in the end for me to scribble my mind out.

I very well remember my first letter was for my Grandfather and it was about 6 lines full of nonsense stuffs which were never linked to each other. All I wrote was about the number of new buses that were plying in my area and which bus is the fastest among them and which was my favorite bus ( No, it was not my School Bus). My mother felt embarrassed that the real facts about my IQ would be out, but strange enough my father was happy because he could write letters without any disturbance.

As days progressed he'd get one separate Inland Letter cover for me, now i had my own secrets to share it with my grandparents or aunts which i didn't want anybody else to know, it should be confined only between my grandparents, uncle, aunts and their children and nobody else. By the time I came to high School I was Proof-reading his letters and even edited his letters.

Next step was in school where we were thought to write letters(basically leave letters), we were encouraged to write our own Leave Letters. But usual as it may seem there were always some estranged BackBenchers  (Though i was a BackBencher was never an estranged one) who'd come to me in tears during assembly and request me to write out a leave letter for them. I out of sympathy or authority (Am confused which one) would write out a leave letter and before the classes begin after the assembly the letter was ready (with the problems and illness totally decided by me).

Got involved with some troublemongers during my high school days and got into real trouble when i was caught red-handed bunking classes, howling in class, decorating the classroom with bits of paper as though i was decorating a honeymoon suite, drawing nasty/naughty pictures in my class notes. That was the time i was asked to write an Apology Letter. The letter had been so very apologetic that i was let off with a mere warning and without any punishment, then on i became a brand ambassador for writing Apology letters for others.

The heart beats of some of my classmates were very fast and loud, for they had managed to have Girlfriends (Or they thought so) by then. It happened one day, one of my classmate was struggling to write a LoveLetter to his ladylove(Puppy Love??!!). I on Pretext of helping him ended up writing out a LoveLetter to his Girlfriend. Strange!!! My First Love Letter was in high school and that too to a Girl who was someone else's Girl, A Girl whom i never saw or Met (rather i didn't even have the guts to ask him what happened after he gave the letter to her). It was written with great care with quotes taken from Bible. (A holy Love Letter!!!)

During my Post-Graduation days I was faced with a situation of getting over a branch Change, it was then i wrote out a Letter-Of-Application to the college Principal asking for a branch Change (Which never happened). There were some notorious moments in my student life, wherein we had to resort to a strike at the university level, strange and surprising it was when i realised that we had to submit a official petition before resorting to a strike. This was my first (perhaps my last) Petition Letter.

Perhaps many souls would have gone through the Job hunting phase in their life. How can anybody miss out the innumerous Covering Letter they wrote to attach it along with the Resume'.

Once i was landed with a job i thought the responsibility of writing letters would Ebb away slowly,but somehow i did not feel i belonged to the company where i worked for 6 months, so had to draft out a Letter of Resignation to move out to greener pastures.Once i entered into Shipping i thought i had escaped the onus of letter writing. But i soon realised i was wrong when i started noticing discrepancies/irregularities in our training system, hostel facilities etc; all our complaints to the concerned personnel fell on deaf ears until one fine day we were told "No Action will be taken unless you give your grievance in writing" thus began the act of writing Letter of Grievance/Complaint.

Finally the Era of Internet/ Information Technology moved in and people of our generations slowly moved away from conventional letter writing and marched towards E-mail, Scraps, Instant messaging Etc; But my life drew me towards Shipping, Once i started Sailing i was cut off from this world, so my folks began to write letters to me which revived my lost art and i was back to where i began. It brought back old memories and still manages to bring a cheer and Smile amidst all those strenuous work style on-board.

The Pandora's Box in my mind was opened and brought out all my hidden talents, i wrote out a Love Letter (This time for my own Girl Friend..) and when we broke up i wrote her a Hate Letter too.

I won the heart of a Girl, when i etched out the true feelings in my heart in form of a letter to her, who later became my Wife and we still Continue to write Love Notes (if not Love Letters) to each other.

I bet My penchant to write will never end even if i want it to or even if others pray for it to happen.

The Catastropic Disaster!!!

It would have passed out as just another lazy summer afternoon for me if my wife had not called up and told me "Did you watch the news?? Carlton tower is on fire!!...Think about that?? We were supposed to be there for lunch and due to last minute changes the Lunch had changed into dinner" with that the fortune of about nearly 10 people (There were about 10 members to attend the official luncheon) had changed for good.I was left dumbfound for a moment. I gaped glued myself to the TV looking at the innumerous helpless people stuck inside the unfortunate building while thousands others watched from outside lamenting at the helpless situation.

The very thought that i could have been one among the helpless crowd(had my wife been there) made me shudder.

I did not know whether i should feel fortunate that my wife who missed going there because of the last minute changes in the program or should i regret at the bad luck of hundreds of people who were not lucky like us.

 The very thought of "could have been..probably.." sends a chill down my spines. It could have happened anyday friends, how many of us have not enjoyed an evening with our beloved ones at TGI Fridays or IndiJoe in the same building??

It's very natural phenomenon that some lessons in life are learnt hard, and unfortunately the huge price we pay for the hard learnt lessons are the valuable human life.

Coming from a shipping background it was very natural for me to think of the workprofile in shipping where safety and pollution are given utmost importance to such an extent that 80% of work relates to the safety and pollution parameters.

Not to forget the painful, strainful surveys, inspections, audits in this regard which makes the mincemeat out of the officres of navy. The fine for violation of safety and pollution norms are as severe as imprisionment of the defaulting officers.

What surprises me is ...while great emphasis is trusted on safety and pollution related matters on seas, same is neglected ashore. People are of contention that they are always safe ashore. Added to this is the greed of owners of Shopping malls and other commercial buildings who deviate the safety norms.
Even more surprising is the fact that there are no regular inspections carried out in these malls to ensure the implementation of the safety system.

Few years back a Child accidently jumped to death from top floor of one of popular shopping malls in Bengaluru.
A shopping complex was gutted in fire due to short circuit in Majestic area and none of the shop owners had insurance coverage because they were illegal occupants.
The above two incidents should have been a real eye opener which eventually could have led to some safety regulations. But unfortunately, it is yet to take its shape.
Incidents like these keep fading out of memory, but fresh ones keep proping up and haunts us.

How many more disasters are we waiting for, just to learn a lesson on safety?? Are we really so bad learners??
It's always easy to comment and write reams and reams on what could have probably been done to save the lives of the people, but i think it's really essential to take this as a wake up call and bring in a system of practice to ensure safety implementation of the system. Lest we should see worst disasters happening in future.

The Management Shit!!!!

Hi All, Just happened to read this humourous notice on the notice board of my institute in Chennai where i'm presently undergoing training. Thought i'd share it out with you all, if not a laugh i'm sure it'd bring a smile on your face.
Enjoy.

On a Typical blue monday all the employees of a reputed firm opened their eyes to the mail from HR department addressed to all employees.

Dear All,
In the view of persistent bad market conditions and the devastating effect it has had on our company the company has decided to do away with people above 40 years of age as a measure of reducing its workforce.
As an effect all employees aged 40 and above are eligible for RAPE (Retire Aged Persons Early) Scheme. People shorlisted for RAPE can approach management and enroll themselves under SHAFT scheme (Special Help After Forced Termination).
People RAPED and SHAFTED will be reviewed under SCREW Program (Scheme Covering Retired Early Workers).
A person maybe RAPED once, SHAFTED twice and SCREWED as many times as management deems it appropriate.
Those who are RAPED may get either AIDS (Additional Income for Dependents and Spouse) or HERPES (Half Earnings for Retired Personnel Early Severence).
People who have AIDS will not be SHAFTED or SCREWED any further by management.

People not shortlisted under RAPE scheme will continue with the organisation and shall receive SHIT (Special High Intensity Training) from the management. The management takes immense pride in giving enough SHIT to its employees. Those who feel that the amount of SHIT received by them is inadequate may inform the manager who will see to it that the management gives you as much SHIT as you can take.

Regards
HR

The Great Indian Loophole

"I am the one who fears to board the train or a bus for the fear of being bombed, I am the one whose wife has doubts about the safety return of her husband from work because of the terror attacks in the country, I am a bloody common man" screamed the main protagonist of the critically acclaimed movie "A Wednesday", while speaking out his fears the protagonist also pointed out to the loop holes in the system of government. Ironically few months after the release of this movie there was the infamous 26/11 attack in Mumbai that shook not only this Democratic country but the whole world. It kind of show casted the prevailing Loopholes and the failure of the Indian Intelligence and most importantly the lack of preparedness to deal with such an emergency.
Now as the country is heading for the first anniversary of the dastardly act there is one question which is being raised by millions and is doing rounds "How safe are we Now??"
The question kind of still remains unanswered. But there are lot more questions to be answered, "How prepared are we to prevent occurrence of such incidents in future?" "Why does India always wake up only after an emergency rather than preparing for it?" "Why are we so careless about the security of our own country?"
Discussions, meetings, plannings, strategies are being drafted out at a very diplomatic level, and definitely there is an action plan taking place.

But let me focus your attention to the basic grass root level. I quote from my own personal experience. The place in question is one of the historically renowned major tourist destination and a major port city.
I was deployed as an Engineer on one of the passenger ships that plies between Island and the Main- land. As is the usual professional custom i was transferred from my present ship to another Passenger ship. The Jetties (place where ships are made fast and passengers embark/disembark) of the two ships were quite far away (about 2-3 kms) and the jetties had different entrance and securities. I signed off from my present ship to join the ship to which i was being transferred. Since the ships halted in the port for 2 days..i began to shift my luggage one by one and i started moving between the jetties quite often.
I had a letter from the company addressed to the security officer in-charge stating full details of company i was employed with and the ship name to which i was being transferred.
With a fully loaded bag on my shoulder and a hand kit i was fully confident of being stopped by the security for my identity, so i had the letter and passport ready in my pocket. But much to my surprise i just walked through the gate chatting non-chalantly over the phone with not a single security personnel bothering to stop me for questioning my identity nor checking the contents of my baggage. This is at the jetty where hundreds of passenger ships are made fast.

I made at least 3 rounds between the two jetties to shift my luggage completely and moved around with an air of prestige and without being questioned anywhere.
When i started sailing on my newly posted ship, which was basically a tourist ship and the passengers were mainly tourist ,a small percentage of them being foreigners, I had an opportunity to interact with them, the topic of discussion was very general, limited to the country they came from, how they felt being on a holiday in our country and the likes.
As curiosity would have it i used to ask about the security checks they had to undergo before boarding the ship, to my surprise they had no such formalities. All the passengers brought tickets at the entrance of the jetty and boarded the ship like they board a bus in the bus stand.
it didn't end here, there was no limit to where i could move around inside the port premises, I even managed to enter the most sensitive area of dry-dock(where ships are taken out of water and repaired) with the security guard opening the barricade and making way for me just by seeing me in uniform.
I had a free tour of all the ships that were undergoing repairs and unlimited access to Engine room and the Navigating wheel house.
This is the situation post 26/11. I hope you who have been reading this have a similar story of "The great Indian Loophole". The same question haunts me again and again "Why such a careless attitude about security of our own country?" "Why are we giving a chance for another disaster to happen and lament about it later??"
I wish I could get an answer before its too late.........................