This post is written by Mayuri Nidigallu as part of the 6th anniversary celebration of my blog.<\/p>\n
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Of how endearing monikers can cost you dear.<\/p>\n
Disclaimer: This article may cause strange emotional reactions in people as they read through it. Please keep tissues handy and resist from calling up your family to demand answers or simply vent repressed anger. To my family; I love you all (in print)<\/p>\n
There are things that your parents shouldn\u2019t have done, maybe have done, or should have done. Oh yes, the list of complaints is long. But there\u2019s one thing I am so glad my parents DIDN\u2019T do, and that is\u2026<\/p>\n
Give me a moniker. I am so glad I don\u2019t have a pet name\/home name\/nick name.<\/p>\n
An issue, you ask? Well, yes. Read on.<\/p>\n
My Aunt and Uncle lovingly nicknamed their much-awaited first-born, \u2018Gappu\u2019. Now, \u2018Gappu\u2019 literally means fat\/cute\/cuddly. Sadly, our \u2018Gappu\u2019 did not and still does not fit any of the above adjectives.
\nAll of 25 yrs old now, a lanky and very good looking lad, \u2018Gappu\u2019 cowers with terror\/humiliation each time someone, he wishes he never knew, calls him by his ghastly \u2018nick\u2019 in public and more so when there\u2019s a pretty girl around.<\/p>\n
These are the times I am thrilled to be spared the torture of having a \u201cpet\u201d name.
\nBut I wasn\u2019t always Mayuri. No Sir! I was called \u201cBaby\u201d (cringing with shame here) when I was little!<\/p>\n
My formative years were spent in the innocent assumption that my ‘real’ name was actually \u2018Baby’. In fact, I wrote my name as \u2018Baby Sharma\u2019 everywhere.<\/p>\n
When I was old enough (8years, if it interests you) to realize that the \u2018Baby\u2019 in question was yours truly, I made up my mind and took a brave stand and just refused to answer to it. The family could \u2018Baby\u2019 me from here to eternity, but I plain refused to answer!<\/p>\n
Nicknames, as forms of endearments, can cause some serious damage as you grow up.<\/p>\n
Imagine this gorgeous 6 footer, with an amazing physique and a great smile walking towards you. You hold your breath, thank your lucky stars and wonder what you did right when suddenly someone calls out to him \u201cBholu\/Pappu\/Chintu.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clink. Shatter. Crash. Those were your dreams as you suddenly wonder if he is really that hot, is he?<\/p>\n
You may traverse seven seas, cross continents and negotiate deserts and mountains, anything to distance yourself from your nickname. But your nickname will never leave you.<\/p>\n
You have flown double digit hours, are at the other end of the time zone among colleagues called Gottfried and Krisoijn, gleefully devouring your Poffertjes, ecstatic in the knowledge that you\u2019ve left your deep, dark secret far behind when you open your mailbox to find a (or if it\u2019s your lucky day, many) emails from back home saying \u201cwe miss you\/take care\/eat on time Dolly\/Bintu\/Dumpty.\u201d And suddenly the world is a tiny, tiny place and there is no escape.<\/p>\n
You have just wrapped a multi-million pound deal and are feeling invincible, accepting much hand-pumping and rightfully deserved accolades, smiling smugly at your weighty name being splashed and flashed all over the media when your mum calls up to congratulate her \u201cSimpu\/ Monu\/ Dholu \u201d on loudspeaker in full view of your colleagues. Suddenly victory does not seem so sweet anymore.<\/p>\n
Nicknames are forms of endearments special to each household. The pet names don\u2019t have to make sense and are more often than not sources of amusement to outsiders, but they are very special in the warm circle of love the family has built around the child.<\/p>\n
Whenever I hear a crazy nick, and see the person cringing in shame, I sit back, smile and smugly say to myself “You’ve come a long way…Baby!”<\/p>\n
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Mayuri Nidigallu is a Tarot Consultant by Profession and a Writer by Design. Since she is already aware of what the future holds, she enjoys unwrapping the present.<\/p>\n
She writes on www.sirimiri.in<\/a> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<\/p>\n
\nHer Tarot Site is www.cardstalk.in<\/a><\/p>\n