What age does to you!

One more year gone, another started. The first thing I think is that I would become one more year older this year! It comes with a lot more ambition to me & a resolution to start working towards those personal preferences which throw guilt to me always since I am not able to give time to them! Hmmm...till I was a minor, I awaited the time when I turn 18 & I would be eligible to start working, ACTUALLY! I was the youngest always among the peer group (though I never looked like one thanks to my South Indian background! - no offence), I went to school one year earlier than usual, I skipped a class in between due to some stupid test for a higher standard that I passed & so I didn't know the Archimedes Principle till the end of next class (so, as per my peers I was 2 classes behind in knowing about that principle) and I faced desperate struggle to solve those quadratic equations in the next class since I was behind those memorized concepts from the earlier class. Well, not that any of the two above make a difference in my life now, but at that time only I know how I was not able to handle the pressure! I started my first job earlier than my peers, I finished my masters well ahead of my peers and so on.

After celebrating many new years one by one, when I started working in this company, we were too many people from the same college but different batches with about 2-3 years gap. We were all talking about things like 'oh you joined the year when I left', 'oh, strange we didn't meet on campus...' etc. etc. when a girl from another section of the office came in. One of our discussion group members generally asked her about her date of birth. The year she uttered spread a deathly silence across and we had our jaws dropped. One of my friends in that group & I shared a stare with each other, in that same shock! And my friend smartly said, 'okay, I better not ask that question again to anyone!' and that silence converted into a huge laughter with a hidden <tch> :)

Yesterday my school friend called up after a long time & when I shared the news of my younger sister's marriage, she got astonished & said, 'why so early!', I had to remind her it was not a child-marriage & we are much older now :)

Each of us from all my past friends groups have moved on to take different career paths & personal hobbies since then but when I think back one thing I realize is we are still the same people. The only thing I conclude is you change forcibly or voluntarily to adapt to the different circumstances that come to you by themselves or by your own creation, which has unfortunately happened to some of our friends. But you still have that 'yourself' within you and given an opportunity, you would want to remain that same you.

If we were 15 when John Abraham was 30 and we admire him, why should anything change when we turn 35 & he turns 60! [Like that news snippet about our elders (women) being sad & not doing household work for a few days when Rajesh Khanna died :) Deadly that was, whoever's thought that was!]

Happy New Year!

What's in a Name? :)

I came across this article in an in-flight magazine. It is an article by someone who has the name 'Rajesh Khanna' :) What a sad moment that day was when this legend passed away! I simply love the Kishore Kumar's songs picturised on this legendary actor! Anyway...

Having the same name as that of a 'Bollywood' icon! Ask me! Whenever I introduce myself as 'Sridevi' (notice that the 2 spellings - of my name & of the actress' name match too, otherwise there are variations of the name like Sreedevi, Shridevi), people have a very pleasant smile on their faces & most often people react, "Mr. India?" :) :) On the first day of my college in St. Xavier's Ahmedabad, someone asked me my name. I said, 'Sridevi'. He said, 'Aur main, Salman Khan..hahahaha". I didn't know what to say, "Mera naam sach mein Sridevi hai.", I said. He got shocked, "Hain...sach mein Sridevi hai? Yeh kaisa naam rakh liya...". Pratik - I would never forget this :)

In South India, this name is very common - in all 4 Southern states I guess but more common in Andhra Pradesh, next comes Tamil Nadu as per my knowledge. But my name did always raise eyebrows in that part of the country also along with a pleasant smile. The actress has a sister named 'Srilatha', coincidentally my sister's name is also 'Srilatha' (notice the 'tha' & not 'ta' :), a trademark of southern India - it won't be Prashant, it would be Prashanth, Srikant would be Srikanth etc.). But does anyone care about this 'Srilatha' coincidence? Now we ask, what's in a name? Yes, there is a lot in a name that has a lot of fame :) I vaguely remember asking my grandmother in my childhood about why they named me like this. She said at that time the actress was gaining all the fame & so when I was born, they named me after her, so that I would also make a name like that in my life. Apparently there is this God named Balaji, the one who has a golden temple to himself in Tirupati, one of his wives is also called Sridevi. Thankfully my family didn't name me after that God. Gods I tell you & especially this Tirupati one <sigh>...let me store this discussion for another blogpost of mine.

When I asked this question to my naani, internet was not there so I could not check the details. But now when I check on the internet, I actually notice that this was the period when the actress had already made her strong mark in South India & was rising to new heights in Bollywood too.

What surprises me is the immediate reaction "Mr. India?". The movie was not at all a woman-centric one, and Sridevi was not looking too good, neither had she acted too well. The extremely important & major attraction was the Mr. India himself. Then why Mr. India??? I actually like her in Chandni a lot, but no one's immediate mention on hearing my name is ever 'Chandni' :-) I personally like her very much in Chandni, she looked her best in this movie I feel & what amazing music & songs the movie had! 'Lagi aaj saawan ki fir woh jhadi hai...', 'Parbat se kaali ghata takraayi...' & more...wow!

It is good to have coincidences but these kinds of coincidences are very special, one big advantage is people will always remember you. Thanks to the 'Sridevi' & all who make 'names' & thanks to my family who named me after this actress. If I rise to similar heights in some other field of course & not Bollywood, I can already anticipate the media headlines :)

But sometimes it might actually get scary for the relatives like in the movie 'Gandhi My Father', Harilal, the son of the Bapu is being asked his father's name by the hospital staff when he is literally in a dying state. He says the name 'Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi', & the hospital staff says, "he is the father of the entire nation, tell the actual name" - Harilal actually dies in the hospital without anyone knowing about him. How sad can something like that be!!!

Like the author in this article mentions, thankfully, no one has said anything like this to my family or relatives, "Okay, stop joking & tell me the actual name"!

What...is...in...a...NAME!!!