44 | VOW | march 2011

special feature

This is how Babins Shrestha, a software engineer at D2 HawkEye Services, generally goes through the ritual of introducing himself to a new person. "People just can't keep their curiosity to themselves when they notice the 's' in my name," he exclaims. And no, Babins hasn't added the 's' to give his name a unique twist to the otherwise quite common name,

“Babin” (as in Babin Pradhan, a popular Nepali singer, remember?). “Babins” was exactly how his father named him.

And it's not just Babins' dad who has (over) exerted his creative faculty in nameing his child. In fact, when it comes to naming a newly born, parents all over the world are getting more and more inventive. Gone are the days when simply one of the names of the Gods or Goddesses, a protagonist from a mythical legend, or just one of the popular contemporary names was chosen to name a newly-born child. Names are getting more and more unconventional, weirder and more 'interesting' than ever before. There are individuals whose names

are derived from the day/month they were born in, some have been named after one of their parents' favourite flower or a celebrity, a favourite character from a book or a movie, a historical figure, a word that might have a special appeal to the name-giver, or something altogether eccentric...

Well, yeah, it could be really annoying to spend one's lifetime explaining to others how one’s name is really spelled or pronounced, to keep on answering wrongly directed calls clarifying that s/he is not the

actor/actress the caller intends to talk to, or continuously reaffirming one's own name just because someone doesn't 'believe' that it's his or her real name. However, conventional or not, names seem to make the person’s identity. American writer Dale Carnegie put it the best way: "Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language."

VOW talked to five individuals with names that 'demand' attention...

namethe

chroniclesWhat’s in an name?

"Err… what's your name again?"

"Babins, B-A-B-I-N-S, Babins."

"Bobins… plural…??"

"Yup, but Babins, not Bobins."

subscribe online: www.vownepal.com | VOW | 45

BaBins Shrestha Software Engineer, D2 HawkEye Services

The story behind my name…I was named by my father. Both my younger brothers—Sushban

and Sanim—were also named by him. Actually, none of our names has any apparent meaning, and we were always very curious why our father named us so. I did some research and discovered that actually, he named us with the alphabets corresponding to his own name: Basudev -af;'b]j_. I was named with af -aflaG;\_, Sushban was named with ;' -;':ag_ and Sanim was previously named with b] (b]l/a– Deriv). How Deriv became Sanim is an interesting story again. Actually, when he was named Deriv by my father, my mom sprung into action: "No way! You have already messed up with our two sons' names. I am not going to name him Deriv or whatever." My father didn't object, and my mother happily named him Manish. But, there came a twist when our uncle's son was born at pretty much the same time and he too was named Manish. So there occurred an identity crisis.

The story behind my nameActually, my father has a fetish for unconventional

names. And he named me Awashyakta for the sole reason that my name should stand out in a crowd. Even my elder brothers, who were of course named by my father, have very unique names—Abiskar and Aswasan.

People's reactions…When I introduce myself to others, they find my name

quite exceptional and react with a hint of surprise. They find it easy to remember my name and I don't have to repeat my name to someone I have already been introduced to. So that's a plus point I guess.

What my name means to me…I have always been very comfortable with my name, no matter how 'strange' it

sounds, and never did it occur to me that I should go about changing it to something else. However, unlike what my name suggests—(need or wants)—I am quite satisfied with what God has showered on me. My name reminds me that I should never stop longing for progress.

awashyakta Sigdel Student

‘My name

keeps me

longing for

progress’

My father intervened and decided that instead of calling him Manish (dlgz), he could be named backwards—Sanim (zlgd). Sanim sounds quite a familiar name, but we doubt if it has any meaning. We often joke that if we had another sibling, he or she would have been named with a j... something like j6f6f (Vatata) or jG8/ ls8 (Wonder Kid)... only my dad knows!

For 22 years, I didn’t know what my name meant…

I knew there are some homophonic words that sound similar to my name: for example, Bobin,

brother of Batman, and “Bobbin case” (used in sewing machines); but for 22 years of my life, I didn't know what my name meant. I searched for the meaning wherever possible and finally, I sort of derived the meaning in one of the electric circuit classes while doing my Bachelor’s in Engineering at the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk. In the class, while I was half-asleep (sleeping with my eyes wide open), the professor somewhere mentioned “and within this, Babins is wounded with a coil” to which everyone laughed. I sprung back to attention wondering what the joke was. The professor thought he'd cracked a hilarious joke, so he repeated the same sentence yet again. Well, funny it was or not, but right at that moment, when everyone got a reason to laugh, I was enlightened. I came to the conclusion that Babins is "something that is wound or has been wound". However, the “Babins” that the professor talked about is spelled B-o-b-b-i-n-s. Yeah, my name, if it corresponded to its possible meaning, has an error in spelling... but what the heck!

What my name means to me…My name is very dear to me and I am kind of proud of it because

it's super-unique thanks to my dad—he is my hero! To those who don't ever pronounce my name correctly, mostly leaving the “s” out, I don't mind and let them call me Babin. I also often use “z” instead of “s” to make my name sound cooler –Babinz! I just hope people don't pronounce my name as “Baabins” or “Poppins”… calling me Bob is cool though.

‘My name apparently doesn't have any meaning’

46 | VOW | march 2011

antim Ranjit Manager – Marketing and Branding, Big Mart

The story behind my name…When the American doctor in charge of my mother's

caesarean handed me over to my father, he asked how many kid(s) he already had. My father replied that I was the 13th one. Upon hearing that, the doctor was utterly surprised and asked my father that I should be their last child. As my father didn't understand English, the nurse translated the doctor's request, saying, "Yo tapaiko antim santaan hunuparchha." Everyone around heard the nurse say so and teased my father saying that I was the last one—antim. And that was precisely how I was named. Later, my parents wanted to change my name to something conventional, but somehow it didn’t happen.

People's reactions…By the time I was of school-going age, my name, Antim was

what everyone knew me by in my village. My name didn't make any difference at school because I studied at a local school and my classmates were my friends. After SLC however, when I came to Kathmandu for further studies, people were surprised to learn my name. When I submitted the admission form at Mahendra Ratna Campus, the officer looked at my form and asked if I had not made any mistake with my name. I assured him that there was no mistake and then he told everyone in the room that my name was Antim. All of them burst into laughter! I was new to Kathmandu and given my reserved nature, I couldn’t react in any way. However, I am glad that my name is Antim in the sense that people remember it very easily—it takes only one introduction and they remember me forever.

What my name means to me… Although my name means “the last one”, I am quite an

innovative person and I am always game for taking initiatives and leading my team.

Duniya Raut Student

The story behind my nameIt was my father who named me Duniya, which means “the

world”. Perhaps I mean the world to my dad!

People's reactions…Whenever I introduce myself to new people, I have to reaffirm

my name. Some of them even say, "If you don't want to tell me your name, it's okay. Leave it," while some of them request, "You can trust me. What's your real name?" It takes some effort to convince them.

Memories associated with my name…Generally, after a couple of reaffirmations and a confident look

in my eyes, people get convinced that my name is Duniya for real. Once, there was this man who wouldn't get convinced at all and accused me of kidding with him no matter what I did to 'prove' that my name is Duniya. I had to actually show him my identity card as evidence. He was sorry later, and we are now good friends.

Flattering remarksPeople generally compliment my unique name, saying, "You

have such a meaningful name" or "Duniya sounds so sweet."

What my name means to me…I love everything about my name—from what it means to

how it sounds. And just like what my name means—the world (with everything and everyone), I have an attitude that does not discriminate against anybody or anything. I have a large circle of friends and I love meeting new people. I also have a very versatile character, and I can mould myself into whatever situation demanded of me. In fact, it's my name that encourages me to do something in favour of the whole world and be somebody renowned. If my name was something else, I wouldn’t probably be what I am today.

‘My name means the last one, but I love taking initiatives’

special feature

‘I mean the world to my dad’

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Bhuwan KC Political Correspondent, Kantipur Television Networks

The story behind my name… I was named Bhuwan by Balananda Upadhyay, a pandit as

well as a teacher at my primary school. Initially, I used to write my name as Bhuwan Khatri, but when I reached class four, another teacher Januka Acharya, who loved me very much for being the topper in my class, requested me to write my name as Bhuwan KC, and I agreed.

When I discovered about the popular actor, Bhuwan KC…

It was only when I turned 14 that I learnt about the popular actor Bhuwan KC. However, I don't remember feeling anything Text» Poonam Maharjan

Photos» Sanu raja /Shankar

‘My name means the last one, but I love taking initiatives’

knowing that I shared the same name with a celebrity. I never gave it any thought.

I started being punctual in class thanks to my 'namesake'

Once I completed schooling and went to Ratna Rajya Campus for further studies, Lal Deuja Rai, Associate Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication, asked me about film shootings and my relationship with Sushmita KC (actor Bhuwan KC's wife) whenever I was late for class. I knew he was just mocking me for my tardiness, so I would smile back and try my best to reach class on time just so that I didn't have to go

through being embarrassed.

The perks of having a celebrity nameWell, once I introduce myself, most people remember me by

my name. As a journalist, it's very essential to make and maintain relationship with new sources, and my name has helped me do so. Some senior political leaders, who are great fans of actor Bhuwan KC, remember me easily even after just one introduction. I should say I am lucky I haven't been introduced to someone who doesn't appreciate the actor much.

The flipside…Some people, after learning of my name, ask me if I am a great

fan of the hero. Some even ask me if I have any scoops on the actor. Many a time, it gets a little annoying when I receive calls from young people who ask me if I can give them an opportunity to act in one of my ‘projects’. I try to humbly explain to them that I am not the Bhuwan KC they think I am, but sometimes, they just don't believe me.

‘I am not that Bhuwan KC’