I gun call yuh Anand...

The man sells good food and snacks nd he made the move to open his own business a year or two ago.  I have dropped in now and then and we get to talking and so ..

The man said. you know dat name Vidya.. it aint suit you.

I laughed.. why man? It is unique.. everybody would remember me as the man wid the girl name..

He wasn't amused.. nah.. man, it aint suit you..

I said.. well I glad I got it

Nah.. I gun call you Anand.. Anand is the name of another guy who works over there..

I said well you know.. you can call me what you want..

I tried to imagine though, this naming thing.. and how identity is so tied to name.

The first time I did a major transformation of my name was in High school, deciding to move from Vidya to Vidyaratha the full name.

Some teachers used it, others didn't and the shortened form took precedence and Vidya remained.


I never imagined myself as anything other than Vidya/Vidyaratha. I have to use my 'book name' now for official business and I hope nobody takes it and use it to wuk pun meh :)


I imagined myself as different occupations, but I always thought that Vidyaratha would be good for a film star or singer or even a sports person or whatever.

I never thought of changing the name.

So today when the man changed my name, it struck me... What if I was Anand?
I know a few Anands - first names.. all kinds of men doing things..some good, some bad..


and I know other Anands - surnames. One a dentist, one a Doctor, one a chess champion..

There is something well.. intimate? too in the way the man said.. I gun call you Anand.. as though he could change the thing about me which bothers him the most.. not my beard (people ask why I don't shave).. not my belly (people have called out randomly about how my belly getting big)..  

"The other Anand is a Hindu like you"

He was Hindu and converted to Christianity (without changing his name) so I smiled and thought.. right is not Matthew, Mark, Luke or John..

I wanted to ask him about what else apart from my name he would change., but he was selling food.

We talked of other things.. economy , food business and so.. as we normally do...and the name thing came up sometimes.

I look forward to the next visit.

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 1, 2017 at 10:45 AM

    A very interesting story...but beyond the name is what that person felt from your connection with him. The way I see it, he saw you as Anand....which means Bliss as in a spiritually blissful person. That doesn't relate to your religious beliefs but more so to what you carry in your Self and share with your world. What you shared with that person inspired him to call you Anand ..,,the Blissful One....

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