Christening
It is normal everywhere to name people, give them ridiculous names either to annoy them or just for the heck of it. For instance the place I was briefly working at, a handloom unit of cottage industry, a person with a particularly dark complexion was addressed by all and sundry as Ujala. Ujala was the name of a detergent powder or a whitener. It surprised me because instead of reacting to being called ujala, the person would respond in a matter of fact manner. I myself got called by various names at various stages of my growing years. My pet name apart, my mother called me by countless names, depending on her moods. My siblings and class fellows had names for me and even my school principal had given me a name! My neighbors, Sanjay and Mahesh, cousins both, would name any and every approaching person from their window. Those names were apt somehow. I believe it is from them that I picked the habit. Many of my brandings have stuck: Amo— mango, in konkani — was my name w...