Failing to pronounce
one’s name correctly is such a great loss in building meaningful
relationships. Making an innocent
mistake in saying one’s name may sound forgivable but the emotional detachment
it brings cannot be ignored as I speak from my own experience. Having lived outside of my comfort zones for
the last 30 years, there were many occasions when new names were suggested to me;
one time felt like going with “Benjamin”.
But for some reasons, I really liked my original name (Bhojraj Bhatta),
though the Hindu priest who gave me this name did cause irreparable damages in
my and my father’s life. Because of the
timing of my birth and the nature of my name and things related with it, I got
to see my father only after I was 11 years old.
That is a different story all together.
In a world of
social networks and multicultural interactions, I have finally decided to
tamper with my name and fall victim to vocalization. Of course the guru who Romanized Nepali
alphabets into English should have known better that he did not need a “bh” for
“भ”
as there was a “v” languishing meaninglessly.
I wonder what he was sparing the “v” for! Thus, with great hesitation, I am turning all
my “bh” in “Bhojraj Bhatta” into “v” making it easier for everyone to say “Vojraj
Vatta”; unless if you don’t know how to pronounce “v” and “w” differently!
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