What's in a name??

'What's in a name?' ........…Well, apparently nothing. So it's been said from Shakespeare on, to whenever this line is used.

But I have reason to believe otherwise. I think we all have that little bit of attachment to our names. Isn't it true that each of us has that little extra reaction when we hear our name spoken? Like how our ears will perk up even if we hear our name spoken across the room…… or just that little warm feeling that goes through when it’s used in the middle of an intimate conversation………. or how we know the person is just more involved in the conversation at that moment. All of these goes to show that our name for sure matters to us. Moments of additional warmth.

                                  

And then there’s all these people we meet on regular basis who we seem to identify by their roles, or tasks they do, like say our office security guy, regular cab drivers, the chai shop guy, the dhobhi, the watchman, office cleaners, the watchman at the park we go to everyday, friends maid, the list can go on. How often do we give them an identity beyond their role?

I once heard this friend in Google react exasperatedly to our often changing cab drivers ( we get a fixed cab to pick us up every morning) saying, ‘it’s such a pain, just look at my contact list, it has cab guy, cab guy one, cab driver, cab driver new and so on, why can't they just not keep changing the drivers?’. And I’m thinking to myself how the simplest solution would have been to have a name there, of course with that little effort of asking what his name is and tucking it into memory. Wouldn’t it make that connect more personal, after all you meet him every morning. And then, wouldn't he feel good if each morning he were greeted with ‘Good Morning Farhan or Subbu or Raju’, rather than a nod, or not even.

This holds for all those people we come across on fairly regular basis, but never bother to identify with a name. How many of us know the name of the guy who gives us the newspaper each morning? our milk packets each morning? the dhobhi? kirana shop guy? try talking to them using their name and you'll see the connect you make with people who are a part, maybe a peripheral part, nevertheless a part, of your life.

I remember this time I went to this little store which is manned (girled?) by this fifteen year old girl, and I walk in with Hi Aliya! ....and she went Állah, mera naam yaad hai aap ko?', and know what? it wasn't just her, it made me feel so good. That's where joy goes full circle. The benchmark is one hour. Anyone I'm spending more than one hour with, like even a cab to the airport, I'll ask. Why? Because it enables a personal touch, a connect through which you can put a smile on his face, or a moments warmth in his heart. Trust me, when you do that, there's also the nice feeling you get left with, a warmth in the heart too.  Try it. It's happiness so easy.

This morning Nakul ..... I didn't dare say a friend ;)......... told me of a trick, and he vouches for it. When we first ask someone for their name, if we use the name in the first conversation three times, we are more likely to remember the name. I think that’s a cool thing to know, so I thought I’d share. If it gives us an opportunity to make the other feel nicer for that one moment we should just do it, right? And then us feeling nice......big bonus !!

Just random cute