I was really thrilled to see the "Life Of Pi " movie in the theatres. I went twice to the theatre taking my sister and my cousins kids. Point being you enjoy when the kids enjoy. I really enjoyed the colorful shots in the movie.
But One thing which is typically "UNINDIAN" in the entire movie, is the naming of the Boy after a swimming pool in Paris. Indians generally do lot of researching and consulting before naming their children. They read books written by Maneka Bandhi. Parents of the newly born request all their friends and relatives for a wonderful, beautiful name . They give clues and riddles and lot of pointers to the most appropriate name. I still remember my Sister calling her friends and asking for a name that starts with letter 'SU' etc. And some of the kids started giving names like 'SUSU' :)
Also if the name happens to be lengthier to pronounce, they trim it and make it sweet. My Cousin has named her Son Siddharth but always calls him 'Sid ' or 'Siddu'. So venkatesh becomes venki. Subramanya becomes 'Subbu'.
Another wonderful aspect is the place where your father belongs is added to the name. Kuppali Venkatappa Puttapa is a great poet from Karnataka. He was from Kuppalli near theerthahalli. I wish they also add the name of the river, so that the land and the river from where you come can be recognized immediately.
Infact Alwars, the Tamil Vaishnava Saints ask people to name their kids after Vishnus names, so that they will remember the supreme while addressing the kids. The act of remembrance and calling god is thus made part of your life and devotion is woven in the naming part of life. We carry this name till death and it has a special significance for us in our lives.
Secondly, it appears to me that Indians are lovers of truth. I have come across lot of names with the prefix 'Satya' like 'Satya Murthy' 'Satya Narayana' 'Satya Swaroop' and whenever i went to west i would look into Telephone Directories and search for names starting with 'TRUTH' and i found only 2 names like NATASHA TRUTH, ANDREW TRUTH. And do the same exercise in the BSNL directory for Satya, you will find atleast a 1000 names.
I have the name 'Murali' (which means flute) because i was born under rohini nakshatra or star. And Sri Krishna also shares the same star and infact my mothers brother were made to undergo pacification ritual so that i do not trouble them when i grow up. I also learnt to play Flute in later part of my life.
Typically, if the family has inclination towards Vishnu his name will be one of the 1000 names of Vishnu. If the family has 'Home God ' as Karthikeya - the kid will get one of the 1000 Subramanyas names.
In case a female is born, Lalita Shasranama or such other books are referred and the name is chosen.
So naming is specifically linked to the Star under which you are born and your 'Home Gods' Name or Gurus Name and not the name of a Swimming Pool or a Hotel in Paris.
Anyone having such strange western names or who might have come across people with strange names please do let me know.
Coming to the Naming Ceremony of Muslims . They also follow a similar process. They refer to the 100 names of Allah described in the Quran.
For example i would like to mention some of the names which we hear so occassionally -
Raḥmān The Exceedingly Compassionate, The Exceedingly Beneficent, The Exceedingly Gracious
-Kabīr
The Great
Muslims are allowed to use the 99 names of Allah for themselves but should not put 'Al' at the front of them - WIKI.
And for the Author,Yann Martel who spent some time roaming around India, without discovering how we Indians get the name and just to Imagine that Indians are dumb and clueless about naming their children, I would want the Author to visit some naming ceremonies and discover the truth himself.
Till then i would want the readers to tell me what Yann Martel means ? Probably a Hotel in PARIS.
I met few friends from Copenhaegan and most of them do not know the meaning of their names. And i was really surprised by their ignorance of the source of the names.
I gave a search for ' martel hotel paris ' and i found lot of hotels with that name. Now i know why he gave the name of a swimming pool in Paris.
But One thing which is typically "UNINDIAN" in the entire movie, is the naming of the Boy after a swimming pool in Paris. Indians generally do lot of researching and consulting before naming their children. They read books written by Maneka Bandhi. Parents of the newly born request all their friends and relatives for a wonderful, beautiful name . They give clues and riddles and lot of pointers to the most appropriate name. I still remember my Sister calling her friends and asking for a name that starts with letter 'SU' etc. And some of the kids started giving names like 'SUSU' :)
Also if the name happens to be lengthier to pronounce, they trim it and make it sweet. My Cousin has named her Son Siddharth but always calls him 'Sid ' or 'Siddu'. So venkatesh becomes venki. Subramanya becomes 'Subbu'.
Another wonderful aspect is the place where your father belongs is added to the name. Kuppali Venkatappa Puttapa is a great poet from Karnataka. He was from Kuppalli near theerthahalli. I wish they also add the name of the river, so that the land and the river from where you come can be recognized immediately.
Infact Alwars, the Tamil Vaishnava Saints ask people to name their kids after Vishnus names, so that they will remember the supreme while addressing the kids. The act of remembrance and calling god is thus made part of your life and devotion is woven in the naming part of life. We carry this name till death and it has a special significance for us in our lives.
Secondly, it appears to me that Indians are lovers of truth. I have come across lot of names with the prefix 'Satya' like 'Satya Murthy' 'Satya Narayana' 'Satya Swaroop' and whenever i went to west i would look into Telephone Directories and search for names starting with 'TRUTH' and i found only 2 names like NATASHA TRUTH, ANDREW TRUTH. And do the same exercise in the BSNL directory for Satya, you will find atleast a 1000 names.
I have the name 'Murali' (which means flute) because i was born under rohini nakshatra or star. And Sri Krishna also shares the same star and infact my mothers brother were made to undergo pacification ritual so that i do not trouble them when i grow up. I also learnt to play Flute in later part of my life.
Typically, if the family has inclination towards Vishnu his name will be one of the 1000 names of Vishnu. If the family has 'Home God ' as Karthikeya - the kid will get one of the 1000 Subramanyas names.
In case a female is born, Lalita Shasranama or such other books are referred and the name is chosen.
So naming is specifically linked to the Star under which you are born and your 'Home Gods' Name or Gurus Name and not the name of a Swimming Pool or a Hotel in Paris.
Anyone having such strange western names or who might have come across people with strange names please do let me know.
Coming to the Naming Ceremony of Muslims . They also follow a similar process. They refer to the 100 names of Allah described in the Quran.
For example i would like to mention some of the names which we hear so occassionally -
Raḥmān The Exceedingly Compassionate, The Exceedingly Beneficent, The Exceedingly Gracious
| Malik | The King |
| Ġaffār | The Repeatedly Forgiving |
Muslims are allowed to use the 99 names of Allah for themselves but should not put 'Al' at the front of them - WIKI.
And for the Author,Yann Martel who spent some time roaming around India, without discovering how we Indians get the name and just to Imagine that Indians are dumb and clueless about naming their children, I would want the Author to visit some naming ceremonies and discover the truth himself.
Till then i would want the readers to tell me what Yann Martel means ? Probably a Hotel in PARIS.
I met few friends from Copenhaegan and most of them do not know the meaning of their names. And i was really surprised by their ignorance of the source of the names.
Hmm....How about names in Kerala? They don't have any meaning associated many times, if not every name...Rijosh, baiju, Suju etc...Can you throw some insight into these names?
ReplyDeleteWell, I am reading the book and to me it does not seem like the author (Yann Martel) was trying to illustrate or comment on Indians trying to be short sighted about naming their kids. I think the story is a fiction, about a certain eccentric family naming their kid after their Uncle passion for swimming pools. I think it is by no mean a comment of the people or the country and just meant to be taken on lighter side of life.
ReplyDeleteIn fact , if you read the book he has also spoken about practicies and various religions (again nothing to the effect of being sarcastic about them) which you would see are more definitive attempts at describing a country (India) or group or a caste of people. (Naming the character is just a minor anecdote compared to the rest).