JOIN USInitials maketh the man
Manners maketh man, is a popular adage proverb. Today, this has become ‘initials maketh the man!’ In South India, the first name is preceded by two initials-- the first one is the family name and the second the father’s name. During our school days, we identified our teachers by their initials and often did not find out their first names. We found solace in creating nicknames; SL stood for Sleeping Lady who had drowsy eyes, HLP as Height Less Prasad who was short.
It was imperative to have a first, middle, and last name for the passport as well as applications to universities in the US. I went through change-of-name formalities and rechristened myself as Prasanna Harihar, aka PH when I decided to pursue higher studies in the USA. For my friends from primary school, I am still HSP (my friends call me Happala Sandinge Prasanna due to my unconditional love for these fried items).
My father is mercurial in his spirits and energy levels. This fact is well known in within family and friends circle; serendipity if you will that his initials are H and G. Mercury is an element in the periodic table denoted by Hg derived from its Greek roots – Hydrargyrum. His personality has always resembled that of an element with a high coefficient of expansion. Mercury is the only metal in liquid form at room temperature, but he is more amorphous --a low ignition point triggers his temper. The less said about him the better, he would chase me down with this newspaper as his weapon of attack. The octogenarian, even to this day, has stayed true to his initials.
A few variants to the initials are in the form of NaMo and RaGa, a remarkably familiar territory. Chant the ‘Namoh’ hymns to invoke the Lord’s blessings to become dearer to him, though given the sky-rocketing price of goods and services. The melody in our classical Indian music paints hues to evoke feelings in the audience, and is better to emphasise the music of our life with the ‘Raaga’ in resonance with the rhythm set forth by the Absolute!
The drift at this juncture is a mention of our Sri Lankan cricket players with long initials; sample a couple - WPUJC Vaas for Chaminda Vaas their fast bowler, HMRKB Herath for Rangana Herath their spin master, what if our teachers had these initials?
To initiate and set the pace for any discussion with an initial plan is when one feels initiated! So much for initials.