The Namesake
What role does a name play?
Though, the purpose of a name is to give an individual an identity of their own, to act as a 'Title' for every individual, so one does not get mixed up when someone is calling out to a person, every head in the room doesn't have to turn around. Though it's a title, names tend to build an instant impression. When a book is written, each character is named wisely, because the name itself paints a picture of an individual accordingly. The same is applicable with movies, rather any form of story telling. Some of the common character names include:
Katie (nick name for Katherine,Kathleen or Kate), paints a picture of purity and feminism. A tender looking beautiful girl, a happy person. On the the other hand, an ancient popular name Elizabeth paints the picture of a rich,strong headed, sharp looking girl.
Bollywood has had a similar impact on names. When we come across guys named, Rahul or Raj, the first image that pops in our head, is that of an Indian cinematic character running behind the trees. Whereas,female characters named like Sonia,Tanya are often seen portraying a negative image.
It's just not the character traits that we associate with names, it is also the profession of a person that we associate with a name.
For instance, a name such as Prabhkar Sharma, paints the picture of a Hindi writer, Abhjeet Rai of a singer, and Kunal Singhania of an industrialist.
Off names and Change
Name Changes are often seen as a popular trend specially in the media centric world. It is said that; "When you're a star, a name can make or break your career." Some of the popular celebrity name changes are:
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
- William Shakespeare
As the title reads, The Namesake. Like my primary classmates, I would also like to the break down the word Namesake in 2 syllables: The 'name' and 'sake',I would say, name change records wouldn't increase rapidly,if we start considering name only for it's sake. After all; the rose by any other name would smell as sweet!
Have a contented week.
As I think of compiling a new post on this tiresome Tuesday evening, I exactly know the subject I wish to highlight. To begin with, the title, as it says 'The Namesake' is inspired by Jhumpa Lahiri's very first novel The Namesake (2003) which was later made into a movie by Mira Nair, The Namesake (film)
Name: A noun which plays a dominant role in an individual's life. How is it, that one can define the word Name?
Name: A noun which plays a dominant role in an individual's life. How is it, that one can define the word Name?
As I search on Google: Name meaning. I find myself with the following result:
name
neɪm/
noun
- 1.a word or set of words by which a person or thing is known, addressed, or referred to."my name is John Parsons"
synonyms: title, denomination, designation, honorific, tag, epithet, label
The aspect that fascinates me about this result, is the synonyms to the word name: title, denomination,designation,honorific,tag,epithet and label. The synonym which particularly catches my attention is TAG.
The word Tag in itself, is fascinating enough, as we know tag is a label attached to someone or something. For those of you, who find themselves trapped here; between definitions for basic words, I promise, to not make it a thesaurus lingo, it's just the literal meaning of certain words that never cease to amuse me.
When a child is born,his name is a resultant of endless suggestions, family tree legacy, based on a certain experience by either of the parent, religious and cultural beliefs, and sometimes, even based on the day of the week,a child is born! When I started researching; as to how does an individual's name describes his personality, I happen to come across this interesting piece, which spoke about various superstitions people possess regarding the day of an individual's birth. As per the belief, the day on which an individual is born, has some sort of a magical impact on the individual's personality. Interestingly, the nursery rhyme Monday's Child depicts this ideology.
When a child is born,his name is a resultant of endless suggestions, family tree legacy, based on a certain experience by either of the parent, religious and cultural beliefs, and sometimes, even based on the day of the week,a child is born! When I started researching; as to how does an individual's name describes his personality, I happen to come across this interesting piece, which spoke about various superstitions people possess regarding the day of an individual's birth. As per the belief, the day on which an individual is born, has some sort of a magical impact on the individual's personality. Interestingly, the nursery rhyme Monday's Child depicts this ideology.
The nursery rhyme called 'Monday's Child', is considered as a fortune telling song, though it is popular as a nursery rhyme for children. It is intended to help young children remember the days of a week.
Here's the video for the same:
Stage 3: (Secondary school ): The period of time,when people try to shorten their name, present it in a certain fashion in order to sound 'cool'. At 14,I remember some of my friends spelled my first name: Seema, as Cma, oh yes, it was so cool or rather I should say 'kewl', back then.This points out to another incident, which still remains fresh in my memories. Back in 10th grade, during my introductory session with this fellow student, from the academic classes, after hearing my first name, she quickly responded- Your name is Seema?I remember replying, very much. She exclaimed, Well it's so simple!
I wondered then, if simplicity of a name was a such an enormous issue?
It was 2010,I clearly remember, I was a victim viewer of the Indian romantic comedy film, I Hate luv storys. In this movie,Imran khan plays the character of a guy named Jay Dhingra, who fancies being addressed as 'J' or 'Jey' His character in the movie sets a perfect example, of how an individual presents his name in a certain fashion to sound cool. What amused me more was, on the first day of my college which was in August 2010, (just a month after the release of this movie). First year junior college; during the introductory session a guy, named JAY took pride in being addressed as J.
Here's the video for the same:
Names and the growing up phase
Name plays an important role at various stages of life, the most obvious one being, 'The Introductory stage', When an individual introduces him/herself, it always begins with a greeting followed by their name.The first exposure to this stage begins at school. Starting with, pre-school level, followed by primary, and secondary schooling.
Phase one to stage 1(Pre-school) : Names don't really make much of a difference in peer groups. Because, during the early phase of life: Childhood, there's merely more to concern, as long as there's sharing a laughter and play.
Stage 2(Primary school): The time, when he/she learns to differentiate between the people they like and dislike. This is the age group, when an individual also start forming silly interpretations of names. I remember from my personal experience, how my fellow classmates broke down my first name: Seema, into 2 syllables See and Ma. They said See characterized the action 'seeing' and Ma: mother, thus Seema means See Mother. It did sound like a funny story then.According to me, the most interesting phase is:Stage 3: (Secondary school ): The period of time,when people try to shorten their name, present it in a certain fashion in order to sound 'cool'. At 14,I remember some of my friends spelled my first name: Seema, as Cma, oh yes, it was so cool or rather I should say 'kewl', back then.This points out to another incident, which still remains fresh in my memories. Back in 10th grade, during my introductory session with this fellow student, from the academic classes, after hearing my first name, she quickly responded- Your name is Seema?I remember replying, very much. She exclaimed, Well it's so simple!
I wondered then, if simplicity of a name was a such an enormous issue?
It was 2010,I clearly remember, I was a victim viewer of the Indian romantic comedy film, I Hate luv storys. In this movie,Imran khan plays the character of a guy named Jay Dhingra, who fancies being addressed as 'J' or 'Jey' His character in the movie sets a perfect example, of how an individual presents his name in a certain fashion to sound cool. What amused me more was, on the first day of my college which was in August 2010, (just a month after the release of this movie). First year junior college; during the introductory session a guy, named JAY took pride in being addressed as J.
What role does a name play?
Though, the purpose of a name is to give an individual an identity of their own, to act as a 'Title' for every individual, so one does not get mixed up when someone is calling out to a person, every head in the room doesn't have to turn around. Though it's a title, names tend to build an instant impression. When a book is written, each character is named wisely, because the name itself paints a picture of an individual accordingly. The same is applicable with movies, rather any form of story telling. Some of the common character names include:
Katie (nick name for Katherine,Kathleen or Kate), paints a picture of purity and feminism. A tender looking beautiful girl, a happy person. On the the other hand, an ancient popular name Elizabeth paints the picture of a rich,strong headed, sharp looking girl.
Bollywood has had a similar impact on names. When we come across guys named, Rahul or Raj, the first image that pops in our head, is that of an Indian cinematic character running behind the trees. Whereas,female characters named like Sonia,Tanya are often seen portraying a negative image.
It's just not the character traits that we associate with names, it is also the profession of a person that we associate with a name.
For instance, a name such as Prabhkar Sharma, paints the picture of a Hindi writer, Abhjeet Rai of a singer, and Kunal Singhania of an industrialist.
Off names and Change
Name Changes are often seen as a popular trend specially in the media centric world. It is said that; "When you're a star, a name can make or break your career." Some of the popular celebrity name changes are:
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
- William Shakespeare
As the title reads, The Namesake. Like my primary classmates, I would also like to the break down the word Namesake in 2 syllables: The 'name' and 'sake',I would say, name change records wouldn't increase rapidly,if we start considering name only for it's sake. After all; the rose by any other name would smell as sweet!
Have a contented week.
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