What's in a name

The name of a person is more important to me than it is to the rest of the world. But one shouldn't judge people by their names, because names can be dangerously misleading.

For instance, my friend Swetha is called Swetha though she is very un-Swethaish. A Swetha is supposed to be quiet, serious and sober. But she is like a carefree, jumping rabbit.

Another friend is named Asha, though she has no traits of an Asha. Then there is Swati who is intriguing and not at all like the uncomplicated girl a Swati is expected to be.

May be, their parents named them wrongly. Or may be, they were named correctly, but they grew up to become something else, something they were not supposed to become, and quite incongruous to the way they were named.

But then reality, unlike fiction, does not always make sense. My college friend Sayan is aptly named, since he is outspoken, bold, popular and, at times, even impertinent and cocky, the way Sayans must be. My sister Chitra is super-intelligent and efficient and has lived up to her name magnificently. My brother Mohit too has carried the cross of being a Mohit in an exceptionally true manner- being ambitious and diligent that he is. My bhabhi Sonam too is graceful, sober, smart and silently intelligent the way her name entitles her to be.

Finally, I must congratulate my parents, or whoever named me, for naming me exactly the way I was named. A Ritesh symbolises goodness, cuteness, moderate intelligence, modesty and hidden greatness. On that count,   I have blossomed out into an appropriate Ritesh, though some of my namesakes have been too mediocre and unexceptional, thereby eroding the reputation of my name. The onus rests on me to continue to remain the torchbearer of a true Ritesh in its chaste and unsullied form, and with all the goodness intact, despite some inherent flaws which I humbly accept that I possess in the right amount.

PS- I am not being arrogant or pompous. It's just that  I feel that I have been named rightly.