What's in a name ? Plenty.

What's in a name ? Plenty. A prayer, a blessing or just grace.

Naming children has a kind time reference and they seem to change much like the fickle fashion. So we have gone through a phase of Rahul, Siddharth, Gautam, Kanishk, Aditya and so on, then there were Sonia, Shania, Ayesha, Sara, Saira etc. No wonder coming up with a paper back on naming children was suddenly a publisher’s bright idea. Much before all the season of fashionable names, naming was either an offering, a blessing or a thanks giving. When I wrote my grandfather’s obituary early this year, I remembered that he was first called “Pitchai” literally “alms” or “begged of”, my great grandmother’s final call to the almighty for help after having lost atleast 6-7 infants at child birth or those who did, did not survive long. That was about 90 years ago.

Bachi is a name I have frequently heard, and presumed that it was meant to be “a baby or little one” as in Hindi. However ‘Bachi’ as it turned out in Bachi’s own words was a name that was given him as he was the one ‘saved’ after many of his siblings succumbed to what was then a very high rate of newborn deaths. I am intrigued by names of men and women across the world and if its not a Seema, Sonia, Anil or Sunil always ask what it means.

Who knows one may just stumble upon a piece of tradition or history or a heart rending story !!