Identity Crisis

Identity crisis

There was a time when parents used to name their kids with similar names to gods and goddesses. Now, time has changed. The children, after they are grown up, don’t like such names anymore. They want to be modernized. They want modern names and want to be unique. It does not matter whether their modern names are meaningful or not. For them, the names given them by their parents are old and fashioned out. I have many friends who do not like their names. That’s why they chose their own names and now they are hardly known with their original names given by their parents. It seems like the names given by their parents are only for the family members. After they leave the house, they are called with different nicknames.
I have bunch of friends here in the United States who are known with their nicknames chosen by them. They are quite happy with their modern names. Hari, one of my friends, is now, known as "Harry". Now he is even known as "Harry Potter". Only few people know him with the name “Hari”. Harry is famous here in our college. Every young girl knows him. Once I inquired him about his magic name. He told me that he did not believe in god as he was an atheist. Simultaneously, he also told me that he feels comfortable with his nickname as it is easy name for many of his friends.
I have another friend whose name is “Samarpan”. But every one here calls him “Sam”. He told me that once his father called him from Nepal in his apartment and could not talk to him because his room mate told his father, “Sorry! No name with ‘Samarpan’ lives here. Wrong number!!!” Now he tells me that he feels like he lost his self identity as no one knows him with his own name given by their father and mother “Samarpan” which means dedication.
Every Hindus knows that Ram is great god. People have great faith on him. My friend “Ram” is no more summoned with the name “Ram” though his name is “Ram” similar to god “Ram Chandra”. His name here is pronounced as RAM (as a part of a computer, Random Access Memory). He is no more Nepali Ram. Now he is absolutely American RAM.
My friend’s friend Jay who is also my friend has same case. Jay is not a difficult name for Americans. But I don’t know why Jay got his name “Jack”. Once he told me that he did not choose his nickname “Jack”. He told me that he got it from his friends. He felt odd at first when his friends called him Jack but slowly he began to like that name.
One of my friends’ story about his nickname is different from others. He is better known as “Bullet” however his real name is Bharat. Once when he introduced himself with some of his American friends, they could not figure out his pronunciation of “B” and “V”. Then he told them that his name starts with “B” as in bullet. Since then they started to call him with the nickname “Bullet”.
I have my personal experience about my own name. I have many friends who had same name as mine. Some of my friends came up with nicknames to avoid further confusion. But I've never been a big fan of nicknames. Whenever I introduce myself in front of my international student friends, they feel difficult to memorize it. Someone tries to mispronounce my name and tries to call me “RAMS”. But I am afraid that I will lose my self identity. Therefore, I repeat my name more often to my new friends. Now most of my friends know me with my own name. Everyone can pronounce my name easily and correctly.
Every one has his own opinion about his nickname. But I don’t want to be “Harry Potter”, “Bullet”, “Jack” or “RAM (Random Access Memory)” by changing my name. I love my own name with which I am known by my parents, friends, teachers and those sweet small school students whom I taught for some years. I don’t want to be strange in front of those who know me well with my name. I believe that having modern name does not mean that one is modernized. It’s the behavior and endeavor which makes a man modern. "What in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
(17 th Sep' 05) Florence, Alabama