Day 2 B: The Boyfriend Recombobulation
Far far away, nestled in the virgin hills of Assam, lived
the three infamous siblings – the Elephant warriors, busy raging wars against
each other in the frontyard of their home. While the family dog Tiger would be
jumping along, mutilating fallen opponents by its dripping saliva- laden licks.
the three infamous siblings – the Elephant warriors, busy raging wars against
each other in the frontyard of their home. While the family dog Tiger would be
jumping along, mutilating fallen opponents by its dripping saliva- laden licks.
(Image Google)
Clang khachak Dhisoommm … after a black a eye and some
hair loss, the mother would often intervene. A wriggle of ear and warning that
they won’t be allowed to even get a whiff of delicious Hakka Noodles, was
enough to make them put down their weapons, which in this case was a bamboo
stick, a broken ladle and rolled newspaper. Often the warriors were involved in
hand to hand combat, usually sparked by incidents like the youngest secretly
wearing the t-shirt of the eldest to a birthday party.
hair loss, the mother would often intervene. A wriggle of ear and warning that
they won’t be allowed to even get a whiff of delicious Hakka Noodles, was
enough to make them put down their weapons, which in this case was a bamboo
stick, a broken ladle and rolled newspaper. Often the warriors were involved in
hand to hand combat, usually sparked by incidents like the youngest secretly
wearing the t-shirt of the eldest to a birthday party.
When Shakespeare said “What’s in a name”… he couldn’t have
been more wrong. Imagine living your whole life with Hati (“Elephant”) as your
surname. My ancestors belonging to Ahom dynasty were overly enthusiastic to
display one’s occupation in the name. Centuries later, their relentless love
for Elephant as the surname, landed yours truly in the middle of every school’s
ridicule program. 😛 I have seen my teachers stutter and stammer whenever they
read my name aloud, wondering if HATI could really be someone’s name.
been more wrong. Imagine living your whole life with Hati (“Elephant”) as your
surname. My ancestors belonging to Ahom dynasty were overly enthusiastic to
display one’s occupation in the name. Centuries later, their relentless love
for Elephant as the surname, landed yours truly in the middle of every school’s
ridicule program. 😛 I have seen my teachers stutter and stammer whenever they
read my name aloud, wondering if HATI could really be someone’s name.
And then, years later, I met a wonderful “Peacock” and spectacled “Moonjely” in Sydney. Well, Hati sounds pretty cool now.
Do you have such a name??
Don’t forget to hop on to my Poetry Wagon for Essence
Explore Elephant Waterterfall at my photo/Travel blog
Hahahahaa!! That is a great post! Forget surname, I had a name all through school and college that even today I cringe when I think about. It's actually my granny's name (we have a tradition to carry on our ancestor's names) so maybe its sacrilege to hate the name, but whatever. I hated it. When I got married, one of the first things I did was run to the Gazette office and not only change my surname, but also my name. Phew! My school friends, still ensure that I can be blackmailed with it even today!
Haha…such 'you' post! I am really enjoying the Hathi chronicles! 🙂
thank you so much Aditi. I am so glad that you enjoy reading it.
I really enjoyed reading your post. We have some lovely neighbours called Hathi. 🙂
Through my childhood, I have been at the receiving end of badly pronounced names, thanks to a Goan /Portuguese surname. I often had to write it out in Devnagri script so that people knew how to say it. Didn't help much, sadly.
It would be a cool theme for an FB group – "sufferers of mal-pronounced names, Unite! " 😉
Hahaha that sounds like a cool group and I am sure it would be popular. Thank you for stopping by.
haha..well we all have issues with our names , don't we? Mine is Nabanita and while I was studying in UP they found it excessively long and thought I was from a place where people lived in trees and hence such unheard names…And I'm not joking!
Random Thoughts Naba
Ohh yeah I got that too… Ignorance and mispronunciation 🙂 thank you for writing in.
haha Well well I have an issue with my name and it is that it is damn common 😐
Richa
Hahaha Now that's the strangest issue 🙂 thank you for writing in.
I'm an elephant lover myself 😀 Loved the story behind your name 🙂
me too 😀 thank you so much Sreeja 🙂
Cute post 🙂 My surname was Singhal before marriage and people called me single ready to mingle LOL
that sure must have been fun 😛 did you mingle much then? 😛
thank you for writing in.
Hati is an excellent name. Easy to pronounce in Australia. What if your last name is Amravaneswaran. They would kill that name while pronouncing that.
ROFL 😀 nno no noway I want to be called Hati 😛 I prefer Raj 😀
thank you for stopping by.
My husband had a doctor years ago whose name was……(I am NOT kidding – this was his name)
Dr. Harry Pitts
hahaha… he must have a hard time with his patiens 😛 on the other hand it's easier to remember.
Hehe now thats a happy post- I am pretty sure everyone who had read it must have smiled 🙂 and after a time one gets used to things that seem unusual. Amazing history behind, it sounds cool! 🙂
I am so glad you felt that way 😀 thank you so much for your beautiful comment. That made me smile 🙂
Now that's a funny take on elephants. My maiden name was a tiny town in South India, which sounds hilarious. And when in Africa, people struggled to say it. Not that my first name was easy to pronounce either, for them 😉
now I am curious to what know what it was .. cmon reveal it 😀 thank you so much for writing in 😀
I like it! Interesting and fun to read. All the while I had the parade of elephants in Disney's Jungle Book marching in my head. ♥
hahaha that's a funny picture 😛 although not far from truth. thank you 😀
Hahaha! Hilarious post 😀 Loved it!
This is my firs visit. Will keep visiting 🙂
Toddles!
thank you so much Varun. Happy to have you here 🙂
Hahaha! Names can be difficult, for sure. My birth surname was Kimmerly and people were CONSTANTLY putting a "B" in there (Kimberly). Drove me nuts! I changed to my husband's surname when we married and I like that much better. 🙂
oh yeah mispronunciation just adds more fun 😛 thank you for stopping by
Brilliantly hilarious.. Hati <3
Stri
aww thank you so much Sri
Now I like Hati!!
thank you so much 🙂
haha..enjoyed reading this…:)…Hati is unique i say…very cool!
Thank you so much for stopping by. Yeah a little too unique.
That was hilarious. And yes Hati sort of sounds cool! 🙂
And now it does… Not so in school 😛 thank you for stopping by
Hati was not as bad as read by me somewhere which sounds like some Hindi Abusive words,great narration, I have followed your blog. I am participating in A to Z challenge at The Other Side
He he he I am so glad I dont have a name a like that. Thank you for stopping by.
Ouch! Had to smile though at your take on it all. Here's one for you in terms of names: Woodcock-Johnson. They developed an IQ test which we learnt about and couldn't stop giggling through the lesson…
hahaha seriously.. that's hilarious 😀 I feel so glad now 😀
thanks for writing in 🙂
We had a Lucky, Lovely and Naughty at home 🙂 Nicknames are fun and sibling love the best. Enjoyed reading your post.
yeah nicknames are fun.. not so fun when it's the real name 😛
thank you so much for stopping by sulekkha 🙂
LOL, You got me with you sister!
Just imagine is your surname in Hindi meant "UGLY"
My surname means "UGLY" in Hindi. 🙁
well if anything, I used it in my blog url 😛
realy!!! ugly!!! now I am curious what it is 😀
hahaha I noticed your blog url and wondered about it long ago.
I was and am a lone warriror 😀
PhenoMenon
http://throodalookingglass.com/2014/04/extraordinary-exciting-experiences/
I too am 😀 thank you for stopping by 😀
The image and reading your post brought instant smile
I am happy it did 😀 thank you
oh lol you narrated that very well. I had a friend whose cousins were called Bundle and Potla. I hope for their sake they were only nicknames.
ROFL I too hope so 😀
thank you for writing in 🙂
Really a funny story. I know three sisters named Asia, Italy and Sydney.They are not at all embarrassed.
woaa those are named 😀 that's pretty cool if you ask me 😀
thank you for stopping by
Another one of your great-fun-to-read writeups, Rajlakshmi! And yes, I too have had eyebrows raised about my name – my first name, that is! What does it mean? Never heard of it.. isn't it really Bela…etc etc…? 🙂
hahaha 😀 I can understand 😀 thank you for sharing your story 🙂
My last name was Cleage (pronounced like Clegg) People usually mispronounced it but there was no fun attached. My middle name was Graham and although I didn't suffer, my granddaughter who is also a Graham and my cousin who had the middle name of Graham were tortured by being called "Graham cracker".
hehehe 😀 cracker!! that must be quite childhood 🙂 thank you so much for writing 🙂 I am happy to have you here on my blog 🙂