Comments on: A taxonomy of desi names

By: Nomad

Nomad — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:04:27 +0000

Very funny post!
Reminds me, I had a 12 year old patient in my OPD one day, whose name was Udasa. She was accompanied by a younger sister (around 10 yr old) and a brother (5-6 years old). Intrigued, I asked what her siblings were called. They were Nirasha and Deepak. I should be posting this on unchaahi blog.

By: anon

anon — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:03:53 +0000

twin daughters named(pet names though) …dudai and nunai…..
cant even describe u in written…ask any bong……such a shame!!!!

By: TWELVE INDIAN WOMEN I LOVE « A Twist of Word and Mind

TWELVE INDIAN WOMEN I LOVE « A Twist of Word and Mind — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:31:31 +0000

[...] parlance to Kamini. *Goddess of love Have I missed anyone else you know? Unrelated related post: on The Imagined Universe. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)How Heterosexuality Works (For Those In Need Of A [...]

By: rajk

rajk — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:03:02 +0000

I wrote a comment here sometime back. Don’t know where it disappeared. Anyway, to answer your query to Sakhi, Ashok Mankad is the same “Maankad” that she’s mentioned; only I thought that maankad meant spider,not bed bug.
I have always been intrigued why some Hindi names, which are actually male/female are given to children of the opposite sex. e.g Sapna is a male noun but ever heard of a boy called Sapna? And Prithvi is a female noun and I’ve only heard of boys called Prithvi, not girls.
And I’ve heard my share of Mallu Christian names like Jogy (pronounced Jojee), Sini, Seena (Chest in Hindi), Eliamma (Mouse mother?) etc.

Lekhni: This is worrying. I have no idea why your comment disappeared I wonder if it has happened to others as well

Interesting point about the male-female mixed names. Of course, I have heard of Prithviraj, which would be male, and maybe some guys shorten that to Prithvi. But Sapna is baffling (for that matter, it is also baffling why dreams should be male, but then, that’s Hindi )

By: harshasrisri

harshasrisri — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:17:58 +0000

@Lekhni : Cant agree better! its actually fun when u remember the person’s full long name and call out to him/her in public… i am wondering what would be more ridiculous, the name, or the call!

Lekhni: Oh yes, that’s the easiest way to embarrass someone – call them by their full name Bonus points for keeping a straight face!

By: Sudarshan

Sudarshan — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 06:20:15 +0000

Lekhni, is your real name Lekhni??
That apart have you heard how the Chinese name their children? They throw cutlery up in the air (China of course stupid) and record the sounds made when they, ably assisted by gravity, meet their maker. How else do you think Ching Ling, Ting Lang and Huen Tsang came to be names??
And Lekhni, I know for a fact that you are Tamil- Reasons being two- the indepth knowledge you display regarding the not so normal ways the Tamils pronounce names and I am a Tam brahm myself. There are some really hilarious ones I would love to share with all you good people that have bothered to share your thoughts with Lekhni and each other. But right now espresso, a cigarette and most importantly my good friend from UP, Dharmagya Dikshit ( not necessarily in that order) beckon. See you soon!!
Pretendre AKA Sudarshan Jayaram

Lekhni: No, Lekhni is not my real name. And thanks for the compliment about my knowledge of Tamil names
Please do share the other hilarious names once you’ve finished your espresso!

By: Idling in Top Gear

Idling in Top Gear — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 20:20:44 +0000

In college, I knew an American dude whose last name was Balls – I kid you not! He wanted to have a daughter so that he can name her Phelia! I also knew a Richard Hooker! No surprise that every one called him by his shortened first name + last name. As for funny Indian names, I once met a Hardik, who goes by Harry, and an Annamalai, written as Anna Malai and hence was assumed to be a girl!

Lekhni: No kidding, really? The Hooker part is less surprising, for that’s also the name of a well-known furniture brand in the US that was started by one Clyde Hooker. (I did do a double-take when I first heard the name, years ago )

By: Shefaly

Shefaly — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 12:45:15 +0000

Lekhni:

“Was that what the parents were smoking when they named him ?”

Possibly when they made him/ her… A bit like David Beckham’s son Brooklyn, apparently conceived in the NY suburb.

Lekhni: Quite possible Although, Brooklyn (the suburb) has shed its rough image and become fashionable these days. I still can’t imagine anyone naming their kids Bronx or Hell’s Kitchen yet

By: Aishwarya

Aishwarya — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:39:15 +0000

A lot of the malayali christian nurses my parents have worked with have botanical names – Rose and Lily and Rosemary and so on. They were pretty amazed when they met Cannabis, though.

Lekhni: Was that what the parents were smoking when they named him ?

By: Sahasranaman

Sahasranaman — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 04:57:05 +0000

Well, I told him to shorten it. Because he was having so much trouble with it But I just can’t understand why its so hard. When I say each syllable separately, he’s able to follow me, but says something totally different when trying to say the whole word

Lekhni: Yeah, well, give him a break He can’t twist his tongue as readily as you and I can