In This Together

Zafar #58

[Jawahara, I wouldn’t bother explaining if I were you...]

[Ali1 - here’s a question for you. My grandaunt, one Fatma Ismail, named her only daughter Usha. So is Usha Ismail a Muslim name or a Hindu name? For what reason? Can names really have a religion? You seem to imply that they can. Can’t a Muslim be named, for example, Mohini Mangeshkar? Or a Hindu be named Akhtar Talibani? Reasons?]

There you go - falling in the trap yourself after sagely advising Jawahara.

Be prepared now for some filth about your grandaunt, her daughter, and your whole khandaan in general. You will also get to hear in lurid details about your lineage three centuries back, not to mention smug analyses of the motivation behind all that you do in your life.

Don`t change your name Jawahara - at least not by the forces of terror.

Subroto

Could I ever escape from myself if I wanted to

Change my identity

Take on a new name

Have plastic surgeons shape a new face

And then walk unrecognised in the street

Same flesh

Same heart

Unchanged DNA strands

A mind that still thinks

The same way as before

So must I then

Erase all the memories?

As if I never lived

Before this day

When I died

And was born again

A new me that I know not and may never will..

Reply Jawahara, Ali1 #: 53

“My parents did not compromise anything with my first name. We are Indian, so I got an Indian name. Apart from that my grandfather was a personal friend of Mr. Nehru`s and he (my granfather, that is) died quite soon after I was born...3 months later... and it made him happy before he went, that since I was born on Jan 26th (Republic Day) and that my parents chose to honor his friend and our country through my name.”

Jawahara, I wouldn’t bother explaining if I were you – when world views collide small hearted people always see any natural expression of big heartedness as a “betrayal”.

Ali1 – here’s a question for you. My grandaunt, one Fatma Ismail, named her only daughter Usha. So is Usha Ismail a Muslim name or a Hindu name? For what reason? Can names really have a religion? You seem to imply that they can. Can’t a Muslim be named, for example, Mohini Mangeshkar? Or a Hindu be named Akhtar Talibani? Reasons?

Zafar

ali # 55

Man, you are a sick person.

ali1,

What`s in a name? Isn`t it childish of you to pick on someone because their name doesn`t happen to ``fit in`` to your preconceived notions about how a parent should name their child.

Many ``Muslim`` names are Biblical names as well, does that mean that our parents felt subjugated by Christians?

Being unreasonably rude to people won`t get you anywhere.

# 52

Of course we make all sorts of (fig-leaf) justifications for our compromises.........

Just a clarification on the last posting.

My parents did not compromise anything with my first name. We are Indian, so I got an Indian name. Apart from that my grandfather was a personal friend of Mr. Nehru`s and he (my granfather, that is) died quite soon after I was born...3 months later... and it made him happy before he went, that since I was born on Jan 26th (Republic Day) and that my parents chose to honor his friend and our country through my name.

Changing names:

Dear Ms. Saidullah,

All of us who live as minorities by choice have to make compromises to become more acceptable to the majority. Your parents in India made such a compromise with your first name. You shouldn`t hesitate to change your last name here in the US.

I suggest Jawahara Nehru if you want to show some pride in your Indian heritage. Jawahara Jones rhymes well, otherwise.

Deepika #41

About 20 persons, with green flags on their bicycles, took out a rally, shouting pro-Laden, pro-Musharraf slogans…

….pro-osama and pro-musharraf? do you even read what you paste?

Zafar, I am glad you are not called Osama either. BTW, I know someone who works with someone called Osama. Poor guy!

Zafar:

Hai rabbaan mainnoo chuk lai…(please see a Panjabi for translation if required.)

This reminds me of a line from a play called ``Bakra Kishton Pey`` Part 2

The line is: ``Aapney mujhey uthaya, Allah aapko uthaye``..

Reply Neptune # 46

“Just wondering.... shouldn`t it be aTTalib by the rules of Arabic grammer?”

Neptunedada

Er….actually this is a little embarrassing…you see, this last name is actually not one handed down over the generations from the dawn of time…in fact, my father and his brothers were the first in their families to actually require last names….before that my grandfather just used his father’s name after his own, etc….but anyway, school and college required these things….so they all went off and chose the last name they liked….which is why some of my chachas have the same last name, and others are Talibs and others are even Sattars…

Now for the embarrassing part…see, my father was going through this Arabist phase at the time (well he was only 19 or 20 yaar)…so he picked Al-Talib, which certainly SOUNDS very Arab to our ear…but actually no Arab is called Al-Talib…so the name indicates, to all Arabs, that I am not one. (Apparently.)…Plus causing grief to all goragori telesales people who have the temerity to ring me and try and flog shag carpets with Micky Mouse designs, etc.

But you are 100% correct – when written in Arabic the name includes a laam (l sound) but it is not pronounced, rather the following consonant thoy (th sound) is emphasised. There’s a whole set of consonants which behave like this when preceded by the Arabic definite article (Al….my goodness, grammar ki bhalo, na? Well I like it…) including the r sound, some of the s sounds and the rest I forget. (oh yes, also the l sound.)

Hope you are well,

Zafar

PS History is the struggle of the classes. Please discuss with reference to Chowk.

Reply Eklavya # 45

“A rose by any other name...”

Eklavya, I’m sure that I’m very grateful (I thiiiiiiiiiiink) but poor Jawahara hardly deserves to be lumped in with such as my humble self.

Or is all this lucknawi thaqalluf whizzing over my poor Memon head? Hai rabbaan mainnoo chuk lai…(please see a Panjabi for translation if required.)

Zafar

PS I’m still glad I’m not called Osama.

Zafar #42

[Hey - how`s Al-Talib as an inconvenient name these days? Alhamdolillah, my parents didn`t name me Osama...]

Warning: irrelevant musings follow.

Just wondering.... shouldn`t it be aTTalib by the rules of Arabic grammer?

re: Zafar Al-Talib # 42

Zafar,

A rose by any other name...

Ek

P.S. And that goes for Jawahara too.

If you are an Afghan woman you could be beaten or killed for:

• Leaving the house unless accompanied by husband,

brother or son.

• Walking with a man who is not a relative.

• Showing any part of the body.

• Laughing in public.

• Seeing a doctor that is not a woman, but

female doctors are rare, since the Taliban has put a ban on education for women.

• Wearing white (the color of the Taliban flag).