A rose called by any other name may smell as sweet, but a name can often open doors and in some cases even get one into trouble or prove to be a liability.
A friend of mine, like most ambitious young men of those days, tried to find his way to the land of the Black Gold – the Arabian Gulf. Luckily for him, his mother worked for a business family in Kuwait who were more than willing to help. But strangely, very strangely, the young man`s visa application would repeatedly get rejected. After some years of waiting, perhaps thinking that he is being taken for a ride, he decided to try his luck through the Agents but once again to no avail.
After many years of frustrations, it finally dawned on my friend Israel that his unique name was actually the culprit, the stumbling block! The very word ‘Israel’ being anathema to the Arabs, the Kuwaiti authorities would summarily reject his Visa application without assigning any reason! Israel got his name changed but by that time he was already too attached to his wife and kids, his mother had retired and the winds to greener pastures had also changed directions. My friend is today well employed in the UK and known by his new name there. The many trades that he had perfected while awaiting the elusive Kuwaiti visa have stood him in good stead, once again proving the fact that whatever one learns never goes waste.
In other parts of the globe, a name usually remains for life although it may be shortened for convenience and Dickson may be addressed as Dick. Proper names are poetry in raw and like all poetry they are untranslatable, said the British Poet W.H Auden. But in Amchem Goa, most people think that their name should also evolve in keeping with their improved status in life. Thus, Caitano becomes Cajetan or Caje and Concessao evolves into Concy or Connie. Not surprisingly th newspapers today are full of ‘change in name’ adverts of those wanting to get back their original names for the sake of Portuguese passports.
Some time back when Fr. Jose Vaz got elevated to Sainthood, it was surprising to see his name mentioned as St. Joseph Vaz. If Jose becomes Joseph in English, as some may argue, what does it translate to in Mandarin, the Chinese language?
A person’s name is for that person the sweetest sound in any language. In the good old days, children usually got their names from the family tree of the parents – names like Roza Marie, Salvador or Salazar that sounded so wholesome, strong and juicy … Most of today`s names in sharp contrast are as dry as “ Suklo Bombil”, difficult to remember, challenging to pronounce and almost impossible to spell.
Remembering names that appear to have been deliberately twisted for effect is beginning to be a new challenge for people like me who otherwise have a pretty decent memory – yes, I can even remember the word for it; it’s called Anomic Aphasia! I hope someday soon someone comes up with an App that helps one to remember names by linking them to faces and make the world a little sweeter!
