Sunday 19 June 2011

What is in a name

We find that these sort of ‘expressions’ come up quite often!
“Please make sure that my ‘name’ does not ‘get mentioned’ anywhere!”
“Why does my name ‘figure’ always, when something goes wrong?”
“Don’t ‘name’ somebody, just put through the comment in a generalized way, and everybody would easily guess ‘whom’ you are meaning!”
And so on…
Already, the world has become too crowded a place. We don’t know our neighbour’s name even, residing side by side for over years, since it is an “apart—ment” though in then same building! We are just a ‘face’ in that large crowd. And yet, most of us seek anonymity!
There was a time, even recent few years ago, when all faces were quite familiar, and smiles of gentle acknowledgements are exchanged all through our way when we walk out of our home even on a brief errand.
Why do we seek anonymity, even though we are already just another face in the crowd, a ‘non-entity’, just one out of that ‘cattle-class’?
The technology is already doing its best to reduce us to numbers…. PAN id, Card id, Unique id, Social security Number, (even that ‘idea’ to use just a mobile number to dissolve our ‘class-identities’, known by the slogan ‘what an idea sir jee!).
And global brand names are swallowing country brand names with mergers!
Call centers answer with just ‘brand’ name, though the person ‘manning’ it is usually a woman, and yet not quite ready to disclose her own name, quite obviously so!

To remind ourselves briefly of a contrast, Dr. Abdul Kalam had ‘lent’ his name to his junior when a launch failed at ISRO, and then later when another launch was successful, he clarified that this time, in his name, everything was done wonderfully by that junior! Gautam Gambir, the emerging ‘God’ of India’s religion of the youngsters(Cricket), re-wrote his name on the cheque for the ‘man-of-the-match’ at Eden Gardens, on 24th December, 2009 in favour of ‘Virat Kohli’, a rare gesture that stands taller than all the victories….. I bow humbly before his(Gautam’s) noble parents!

This tendency of trying to run away from our own name, eventually ends up losing our identities, like a fast-forward through a by-pass-highway! The philosophy of a great saint Ramana, “Who am I” becomes redundant!

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