It's all in the name

THE GREY clouds of June augur the end of a sultry summer, the advancing Northwest monsoon and a new academic year. Children and parents are busy covering books and binding them. One more book has to be included in that lot - the telephone directory.

Every second or third year, the new directory arrives. An ad in the newspapers requests you to exchange the old directory for the new one at certain petrol pumps or telephone offices on the specified days.

Whenever I get a new telephone directory, I look out for our names, addresses and telephone numbers. As I was scanning the directory for my son's name and number (his name is Arvind) listed under A, I suddenly came across the name Aristotle. I was amused. Then I looked for Plato and Socrates. I did not find Plato, but there were ten Socrateses!

I saw three Ardhanaris, two Amavasais and one Apriyadarshan!! Then I started looking for unusual names.

The influence of the Marathi saint-poets and the Thanjavur rulers was evident when I came across names like Eknath, Dyaneshwar, Vittal, Pandhari and Panduranga. There were 40 Shivajis but only two Sambhajis. (Sambhaji was Shivaji's elder son.) There were a number of Netajis and Tanajis, five Jeejabais and three Tarabais, (the wife of Rajaram, Shivaji's younger son).

The mind wandered from the Marathas to the Moghuls. I found two Babars, a handful of Humayuns, a dozen Jehangirs and a page-long list of Akbars. I remembered, we had a driver whose name was Dilly Badshah. Among the other historical greats, I came across six Tipu Sultans and 50 Hyder Alis. There were two dozen Shahjahans, but only one Shahenshah!

The influence of the British is still evident in Madras. Along with Hindus and Muslims, we had many Anglo-Indian friends as well, when we came to Madras in 1961. We find many ruler-friendly names among the Christians. There were three Queen Marys and one Queen Victoria. Seeing about 20 Nelsons and four Gladstones, memories of the Dadar Convent School were revived. I found eight Napoleons too!

Among the Portuguese names, I stumbled upon 40 Francis Xaviers, and a solitary Xavier Innocent! Communism fascinated the masses, and the names of Lenin and Stalin are still very popular. I found 22 Lenins and 77 Stalins! There was even a Leningrade! But there were only four Bulganins and Khruschev was missing.

When there are the Europeans, can the Americans be far behind? I found seven Roosevelts, six Washingtons, one Eisenhower and 61 Kennedys, three Abraham Lincolns and three other Lincoln cousins - one of them is a reverend. A dozen or so Jacquelines reflect the popularity that Mrs Kennedy enjoyed. There were two Clintons too.

But the rich and famous such as Bill Gates, Rockefeller, Ford, Reagan and Bush, will have to wait for a few more years before they get an entry into the record book of names.

I found two Columbuses and two Walter Scotts while shuffling through the pages for more celebrities. I failed to meet Vasco-de-Gama, but I was surprised to find Kingkong!

Among the litterateurs, scientists and artists, I found three Shakespeares, two Benjamin Franklins, two Bernard Shaws, 12 Newtons, 24 Raphaels, 25 Edisons, five Samuel Johnsons and even a Neil Armstrong!

There are Dupont, Dublin, Florida, Georgia, and even Princeton along with Shillong. The epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, have provided several names. Royalty is a permanent fascination and so are the names of heroes and heroines. We have nine pages filled with Rajendrans, Ramchandrans, six pages full of Rajas and Radhakrishnans and five columns full of Ranis. A whole page is devoted to Ramdas. Surprisingly, I found 15 Ravanas and two Mandodaris.

I saw one Bheeshmachandra, but nearly 75 people with the name Yuvraj. Nakul had become Nakulesan, but there were many Sahadevas and Arjunas. I found only four Bheemas. The names of Gandhari, Kunti and Madri were conspicuous by their absence. I saw eight Panchalis, but not a single Draupadi. Instead, I found a Duropadi. and a Durvasulu as well.

I noticed a Buddha, a Christ and a Brutus to keep company with a Julius Caesar.

I came across three M.K. Gandhis, two Mahatma Gandhis and one plain and simple Mahatmaji! There are dozens of Nehrus and umpteen Jawaharlals. Have you heard of Hindumati, Lokrani, Putri, Pistabai, Poona Ram, Princeton Sateesh, Duster, Ransom, Parajit (a loser), Prosper, Puissance, Promice Kumar or Way Good?

We have a Canute who is not a King, but a D'Souza. We have a Lord Wellington too, and Honest Wilson as his friend. The last name in the directory is Zuzer! Do you know any other name which can follow?

Whenever I read these names in the phone book, it kindles many memories... of schoolmates, college friends, old foes and new connections. Any mention of Pandurang or Pandhari takes me instantly to the sanctum sanctorum of the Vittal temple in Pandharpur.

I giggled when I saw the name Mahatmaji! But it reminded me of my first 'darshan' of the Father of the Nation. We had gone to attend his evening prayer meeting at "Parnakuti", the palatial residence of the Thackerseys in Poona. I still remember the frail figure sitting in his usual relaxed pose, signing autographs for Rs. 5 each. The money collected was used for his publication, The Harijan. That was 60 years ago.

To me, he appeared as serene and benevolent as the Vithoba of Pandharpur. Such sweet and simple moments enrich our lives. After all, what more do we need to remember then all that is good, better and the best?

SNEHALATA DATAR

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