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)