My name – Hasit, means ‘always smiling’ in Sanskrit. And why was such a name kept? The most common answer I use is that I was born with a big smile on my face, and so, my parents chose this name. A ready and an easy answer. With a name like ‘Hasit’, the question “What does it mean?” is bound to come in introductory conversations.
After that, the next question is about my religion. All kinds of guesses are made about my religion till now. Muslim? Parsi? Christian? And the last comes the real guess, Hindu? And I nod in affirmation. That pretty much makes me multi-cultural by name. But, as a matter of fact, I am an atheist. Nor do I follow any religion. My friends say that I am weird. Well, that’s the way I am. I believe in Forces of Nature. Nature is the creator; Nature is the destroyer.
Then comes the pronunciation problem. Half of my own relatives (young or old) cannot pronounce my name properly. Let alone the outsiders. Some 5-6 versions of my name have come out yet. All made by my dear relatives. Harshit, Hashit, Harsit, Asit are among them. I hate it. I hate it bitterly when they spoil my name. Can’t they just say ‘Hasit’? It’s simple. Isn’t it? Even while booking a table at restaurants, I have to repeat my name at least 3 times to the manager. After years of struggle, I have come out with a simple solution. I either spell out my name at the first say or simply tell them my last name. Nothing irritates me more than mispronunciation of my name.
I feel my name is quite unique. In my 15 years of existence I have heard only 3 other people (excluding me, of course) who are named Hasit. That makes me feel proud. But, with unique names come unique problems.
But, over time, I have learnt to live with it (not that I have a choice).
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