Shasak

What is your middle name? Does it carry any special meaning/significance?

Do you know Gulielmus? No. It’s ok. Do you know John Shakespeare? Gulielmus would call himself ‘Will’ in some of his sonnets during his lifetime, back in the seventeenth century. Exactly, Gulielmus is the Latin word used for William. The prominent personality in worldwide literature is more known by his surname; The man William Shakespeare.

Juliet said, “What’s in a name, That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet.” What we are searching for is the meaning behind the name!

Traditionally, my middle name is my father’s first name. Seldom a mother’s name is used as the middle name in Hindu customary. Indian cinemas have had stories of a mother who suffers a silent divorce and whose husband is no longer living under one roof. There are other stories wherein an unmarried girl gives birth to a child whose father’s name is not disclosed. In both cases, the mother and the child succumb to social bete noires. The child is in no position to use the father’s name as his middle.

Mostly, Hindu names are derived from the pious Sanskrit words. Often God and Goddess names are adopted in their pure versions. The notable thing is that sometimes a God and Goddess’s name are combined to form a devotional offering, e.g. Laxminarayan. Laxmi is the deity of prosperity and wealth, while God Narayan is her husband.

Sir William Shakespeare rightly meant that the name itself carries no meaning. The object sense and tangibility remain even if the name is altered. On the other hand, Indian culture right from the known World Ages has names with solid

credentials. The Four Ages, created by Lord Krishna are Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapar Yuga, and Kali Yuga. These are the Yuga Cycles wherein Satya Yuga existed for one lakh years and the present time is of the Kali Yuga. The proportionate ratio in terms of the years of the four Yugas is 4:3:2:1 as the name mentioned previously. This elaboration is proof of the ancient traditional practice of Indian names since Yugas.

Although modernity has engulfed some of the cultural values, a larger section of society believes in religious and ethnic culture. Single parenting is an increasing trend for various family and social reasons. Mother’s name slowly gets accepted as the second name. The name of a person holds a significant value, be it a poor or a king.