Mind Your ‘Name’ Please!

(This post was originally published at mycity4kids.com)

Demonetization was still trending and kept the business of social media going GUD, suddenly Kareena Kapoor Khan who got bored of her ‘mom-to-be’ routine by now, thought ‘enough is enough’ and its time to come up with a ‘Breaking News’ (making most of her nearing EDD – Expected Date of Delivery) and brought in the bonny boy to this world.

Nation anyways has been fervently waiting for this ‘Baby of the Year’ to happen and had even congratulated Mrs. Kapoor for delivering the baby in numerous hoax messages which had been making rounds on internet for past 2-3 months.

Opportunistic social media went ballistic and leaving the aam janta stranded in long the queues outside banks, diverted their attention to Chote Nawab.

But Kareena and Saif were still not pleased with the traffic and traction they were generating with their ‘Good’ news. They had a plan B ready.

Without wasting much time, they announced to have named the baby ‘Taimur Ali Khan Pataoudi’!

Social media went berserk yet again.

Taimur?

This doesn’t come across as a secular name considering the parents are a mix of two different faiths.

Also, the name at the outset sounds ‘anti-national’.

Everyone frantically Googled ‘Taimur’ and the search results of this particular word started soaring high.

Bingo!

They searched, researched and found that their much ‘presumed’, ‘self assumed’ notion is indeed true.  Pages in Google confirmed they were right. Taimur Lung was a conqueror who invaded India in 13th century and in the due course killed many.

Look at these celebrities whom the nation, especially youth, look up to while making important choices in their lives! This is what they are doing to the devoted, jabra fans – being insensitive while choosing a name of their child which denotes a particular faith and has been associated with a warrior who killed our brothers at some point of time (almost 700 years back).

How uncool and what’s the ‘in’ termanti-national of them!

(Now that you have got the sarcasm, let me be me!)

 William Shakespeare had no clue how significant his quote “What’s in the name?” would become in kalyug!

Like, seriously!

What does anybody except for parents or close relatives got to do with deciding the name of a baby.

Is the baby a national property or a Government’s policy?

How should it be anyone else’s business if a certain parent chooses to name their child Ram, Rahim or Remo?

I am no Historian. But I studied social studies in school till secondary level. My stern SST teacher clearly told me Ashoka killed his 99 brothers and so does Shah Jahan. All In the name of politics.

Interestingly, all this while, I never felt intimidated with Mr. Ashok who lived next door or Shahjahan Ansari, our HR Executive at one of the organization I have worked with.

Even after raking my brain hard I am not able to correlate their instinct being anywhere close to ‘THAT Ashoka or THAT Shah Jahan’.

Point is – No point being pointlessly judgemental.

The most apt thought I came across in this regard which sums up my grip…

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And the eternal quote yet again remains unanswered…

 “Begani shadi main Abdullah kyoun diwana hai bhai?”

 

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