The Changed Name

Shakespeare once said, “What’s in a name?”. As it turns out, ‘nothing’ is not really the right answer to this. Few months back, I mentioned to some of my dear friends that I have had a change in my name (officially that is!) and the name that they know me by is not the one I have always had. To add to their surprise, I told them that ‘Neha Chanchal’ is the name I carried for the first ten years of my existence and boy! Some reaction they had!!

Ok, so the story goes like this: my dad and my uncle, upon my birth, decided to show their profound love for me by giving me the most beautiful name that they had in their respective minds. As a result, I was ‘Shalini’ in my dad’s official records and ‘Neha Chanchal ‘in my primary school records. After a lot of confusion and missed scholarships during my initial academic years, dad’s decision prevailed and my name was solemnly changed to ‘Shalini’ and ‘Neha Chanchal’ was lost somewhere in the sands of time.

I adapted to my new identity pretty smoothly since it was accompanied by a lot of other changes (change in location, change in school etc.). Not much thought was spared for the lost name in the last 13 years until a few months back. During a casual chitchat with my friends, it came to my mind out of nowhere and was blurted out before I realised it.

The reaction that followed made me regret my decision right away. A number of ‘EEEEWWWWs’ were heard in unison and everyone around could be seen clutching their bellies, laughing. According to one dear friend, the name brought to her the imagery of a scrawny, irritating young girl who could be seen talking incessantly. It was only when my dear roomie came to my rescue, saying she loved my old name more than my current one, that I could smile again.

Following that incident, the name comes to my mind pretty often, so much so that it has become the subject of my first blog post. On a recent visit to my best friend, I suppressed my urge to tell him the story of my changed name, unsure of his reaction. Nevertheless, I think of Neha, and it brings back to me the memories of a chirpy little girl, shortest in her class but with big dreams in her eyes, ready to take on the world.

Shakespeare once said, “What’s in a name?”. As it turns out, ‘nothing’ is not really the right answer to this. Few months back, I mentioned to some of my dear friends that I have had a change in my name (officially that is!) and the name that they know me by is not the one I have always had. To add to their surprise, I told them that ‘Neha Chanchal’ is the name I carried for the first ten years of my existence and boy! Some reaction they had!!

Ok, so the story goes like this: my dad and my uncle, upon my birth, decided to show their profound love for me by giving me the most beautiful name that they had in their respective minds. As a result, I was ‘Shalini’ in my dad’s official records and ‘Neha Chanchal ‘in my primary school records. After a lot of confusion and missed scholarships during my initial academic years, dad’s decision prevailed and my name was solemnly changed to ‘Shalini’ and ‘Neha Chanchal’ was lost somewhere in the sands of time.

I adapted to my new identity pretty smoothly since it was accompanied by a lot of other changes (change in location, change in school etc.). Not much thought was spared for the lost name in the last 13 years until a few months back. During a casual chitchat with my friends, it came to my mind out of nowhere and was blurted out before I realised it.

The reaction that followed made me regret my decision right away. A number of ‘EEEEWWWWs’ were heard in unison and everyone around could be seen clutching their bellies, laughing. According to one dear friend, the name brought to her the imagery of a scrawny, irritating young girl who could be seen talking incessantly. It was only when my dear roomie came to my rescue, saying she loved my old name more than my current one, that I could smile again.

Following that incident, the name comes to my mind pretty often, so much so that it has become the subject of my first blog post. On a recent visit to my best friend, I suppressed my urge to tell him the story of my changed name, unsure of his reaction. Nevertheless, I think of Neha, and it brings back to me the memories of a chirpy little girl, shortest in her class but with big dreams in her eyes, ready to take on the world.