Yes, it is an essential ingredient in any venture you undertake. This is more pronounced in an endeavour where you share your thoughts with the senior citizens to provide them some pleasurable moments, and not force anything down their throat.
For the Hawaii Honeymoon piece one member, who has since become a sort of member of my family and has knowledge of our trip to Las Vegas early this week, asks me to share my experience ‘chuda, chuda,’ (garam, garam) and not postpone it for 2013 - as the Hawaii trip. The other thanks me for the ‘vicarious free trip’, while yet another says, ‘Nice journey for the reader/traveler.” The cute remark however is: “Will be happy to hear the results” A great leveler that there is no dearth of readers with a better sense of humour. Reading my Retirement Plan a young office-goer from India (I thought only Thathas and Pattis qualify for membership) says he realizes from the date and place indicated at the end that I am from Phoenix, that he would be on an official trip here, that he is true traditional type performing Sandhya Vandanam thrice a day, not taking food from outside, etc., and requesting me if I could bring to his hotel sufficient quantity of rice and curd for the duration. Since his dates clashed with my Las Vegas trip, I had to decline. I suggested him the names of the Convenience Stores from where he could obtain his requirements. He shot back that they sell Yoghurt and not curd. A member, my namesake, from Phoenix responded to me, after reading Half Way All the Way, that Tyagu, Palghat Mridangam Mani Iyer’s son was his classmate too, but that he couldn’t place me. Then it transpired that not Tyagu but his younger brother, Raghu, was my classmate. To sum up, we have already started visiting each other, and that my whole family is booked to attend his daughter-in-law’s Seemantham at the end of the month. Also, the ladies have come to an understanding that should the hostess fail to locate a cook for the function, my wife will give her a helping hand. This one is a little different. I realize that sharing a time-pass piece like What’s In a Name, sends wrong signals that I am an authority on anything I write about, and readers start seeking advice. In this case, on names. Here are some answers I gave one who sought my ‘vibrations’ on three specific names: Ajay, Vijay and Jai. Ajay - I said, is the unconquerable; but it can be a challenge for life time. Vijay - I felt, is Victor; it is a statement of fact - could be on a case-to-case basis; hence it commits less. Jai - I guessed, is Victory; it could indicate a status or just a wish. Then there was a shortened form of name he proposed. I felt it could pass for both male and female, and hence tricky. These provided, I also sounded to him that despite the best of precautions in selecting a name (if that is his purpose), trouble could surface from the most unexpected quarters, more so since he is based in the West. My cousin in US had named her sons Jayant and Bharat. Good names, aren't they? But as soon as the children started going to school, both persisted with their parents to change their names. Reason? My class fellows call me 'Giant' , complained Jayant. And Bharat said he is being called 'Brat". The latest? I know of the parents have changed Jayant to Arjun. I am yet to be updated on the other. My friend's wife's name is Pritam, Since Pritam stands for "Darling", or "Beloved", he found it embarrassing whenever his friends showered praise on her. "Pritam, your saree is fantastic," or, "Pritam you look so charming this evening…" Fortunately, time is a great healer - they are now great grandparents, and such utterances don’t bother my friend any more. Closer home, take my own sons, Shankar and Sridhar. Things were fine till we started watching Hindi movies on TV. In most of the films the name of the family cook is Shankar. And that gave Sridhar the right tool to make fun of his elder. Things came to such a pass that one day Shankar told me that he didn't like his name, it was old fashioned, and I should change it. By a stroke of luck, in another film the cook's name happened to be Sridhar. And that settled things. With these explanations I wished that reader all the best for whatever reasons he sought my clarifications. I only hoped that instead of clarifying I had not confused him, a trait my wife claims I have an uncanny knack for. V.V. Sundaram 09 December 2011
