What is in a name? II

“What is in a name?” the original bard asked. A rose is a rose call it by any name he opined. Who was I to oppose him? I just believed him as I believed that Caesar’s wife was the most beautiful woman to be born after eve and ghosts were for real.  The trouble with a name like Kalpathy Lakshmanan Viswanathan actually started with my ambition to join NDA. Let me explain. Some of us South Indians have half our address in our name. Kalpathy was the name of my village followed by my father’s name and finally my name. The UPSC form asked to fill in my first name, middle name and last name (or surname or whatever). Adding to the predicament was there was not enough space to write in my name in full capital letters while I did my best to fill it all in the space provided. If I went V,L,K as asked. it is more than likely I will be known as ‘Kalpathy’ and thereby lose my identity. If I went V, KL well a better option. But again I would lose my own name V. After all I had to fill in the form so I risked it all and went V, L, K. Then somewhere along the way I was asked “Name to be printed” or given some such option and I promptly wrote KL Viswanathan. Much better than a Sashimohan TV, I know. I have somehow managed to retain my identity and name since then. That I consider as an achievement below par (as in golf and not in real life). 

The next test was when I joined NDA. Firstly a lot of my course mates were annoyed at my name, what with having to spell it at the drop of a hat. I was down in the dumps to have annoyed those who would be my friends until they and I met CVSS Ratnakumar. My name was a lot easier. But yet I was called by many names, though nobody called me names. It was the effervescent Kuru Hasang (May he rest in peace) a dear friend, who christened me Kelly. He of course could not pronounce any portion of my name legibly. ‘KL’  was tried and discarded for its rigidity. ‘Vish’ sounded too subtle and hopeful (we were not in those days supposed to exhibit ‘hope’ publicly) as first month first termers. It was then probably we watched Clint Eastwood in Kelly’s heroes. Whatever, Kuru Hasang called me ‘Kelly’. The name stuck in the Academies in such a manner that many CMs even now possibly do not know my real name. This was true in service too where ‘Vish’ (we could be more hopeful after commission) overtook ‘Kelly’…but that did not change matters as I suspect a majority of my acquaintances still do not know my real name.

What the heck. The bard was right after all. What is in a name?