Daddy’s lucky girl and the K-factor
“What’s in a name?” said Juliet in a classic by William Shakespeare. But there is definitely more to a name than one can imagine. Sometimes, your name can make or mar your personality.
When I was born, my mother fondly christened me Sonika. Technically speaking, there was no logical reason behind her naming me so except for the fact that her two elder sisters had washing machines with the same brand name. She found the name fascinating and the gadgets reliable, two qualities she looked forward to in her own daughter.
In grade one or two, when little children acquire all the inquisitiveness of the world, seeking answers to their endless ‘whys’ and thereby trying their parents’ wit and patience to no end, I too posed my big ‘why’ to my parents. Why was I named so?
My mother’s genuine response to my query not only left me shocked and surprised but also agitated me a great deal. People name their children after gods and goddesses, great men and women, heroes and heroines, authors and characters. And here I am, named after a washing machine!
At this moment, my father, my real life superhero, jumped in and wiping my tears, narrated an incident related to my name. He confessed that I was named after the washing machine but with a difference. He had changed the ‘C’ from the original ‘Sonica’ to a ‘K’. What difference does it make, I quipped. He smiled and once again picked up the lost thread of his narrative. It was time to admit me into a school. The interview went well and I was admitted to LKG class in Our Lady of Fatima School.
A few days later, my father received some documents from school, filled in by my class teacher. The teacher had filled in my name with a ‘C’. My father went to see the teacher and requested her to change the ‘C’ to ‘K’. The teacher insisted that my name with a ‘C’ would look stylish and quite ordinary with a ‘K’. My father informed my teacher that he was a professor of mathematics and a die-hard follower of Cheiro’s numerology. He told her that after careful deductions, he had found that my name with a ‘K’ would prove lucky not only for me but for the entire family. Therefore, the teacher should revert to ‘K’ in the spellings of my name.
My tears gave way to a broad smile, as I became daddy’s lucky girl from that day onwards.
It’s not that I have not had my ups and downs in life but I always drew strength from the fact that my father believed that I was a lucky person. Whenever things take a wrong turn, I convince myself that this is a temporary phase in life and nothing worse than this can happen to me because I am Sonika, my father’s lucky girl. Long before people talked about Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, my father sowed the seeds of fortitude inside my heart and taught me to have confidence in my inner strength. This is the story of my name. Find out what’s yours.
LONG BEFORE PEOPLE TALKED ABOUT BETI BACHAO, BETI PADHAO, MY FATHER SOWED THE SEEDS OF FORTITUDE INSIDE MY HEART