Namesake

Siddharth Nair...Na! Thats not his christened name. It's a result of creativity gone off course. Forget my name, its at least mythological if not interesting. But my brother's name was something that broke all barriers of religion. Every time we went to some place, for instance, the clinic, we would be asked for our names. I would say out mine and they would fill it in the form. The moment my brother would spell out his, the first question that popped out invariably would be "Cocktail marriage tha kya? Winson Nair!" Earlier we were only too happy to furnish them with a detailed explanation, but soon we were fed up. We would just nod pleasantly and let the other person imagine all kinds of things. Now, there was another problem - the confusion between similar sounding names like Vincent, Wilson and Winson. It was difficult for people to recollect his name. Moreover he was in love with a girl, who hailed from a very religious family. They were always against the relationship, citing cultural differences as the reason. They were unaware of his name as his lady love always referred to him as Kannan (his pet name). He realised that 'Winson' might only make matters worse for him. Kannan could be considered as an official name. In fact some of his business relations also addressed him by his pet name, but in a purely North Indian manner, Khanna. And to be honest my brother looks too hep to be called a Winson or a Kannan.

So, after a lot of meditation, my brother decided to change his name.

Samir, Aakash, Siddharth, Gautam - propositions for the new name poured in. He decided to go ahead with Siddharth, the name that was given to Gautam Buddha by his parents. So we did it the legal way by filing an affidavit and publishing it in the Gazette. Today Winson Nair is Siddharth Nair. Of course, my brother had to undergo lot of difficulties due to the name change. One incident I remember clearly is a visit by a marketing executive from a renowned bank. My brother had requested for a credit card. When the exec visited him he asked for a few details. So it goes like this...my brother's school and college certificates showed his name as Winson Nair. The Pan Card showed Kannan Nair (his pet name) and the new records, Siddharth Nair. The exec kept looking at the documents suspiciously and left saying that he'll get back, which he never did.

Finally, things seem to be falling in place. The new name has found a place in the ration card. It is undergoing change on the Pan Card. He got himself a credit card on the new name. But the memories of the old name still stays, when he meets his teachers or when my parents' friends drop in for a cup of tea. They pat him fondly and say, "Winson kitna bada ho gaya (Winson, you've become a big man )."