Nicknames as a cultural marker
In my parents' generation in Kerala, siblings were many as were their short forms and nicknames. While an Unnikrishnan was naturally an Unni and a Nanukutty a Nanu, it was less clear why a Ramachandran was Appu and a Madhavan was Apunni. There were also non sequiturs like Aniyettan when Aniyan (meaning younger brother) was an ettan (older brother) to a younger relative.
Cut to the 1970s military colonies and cantonments that my siblings and I grew up in Delhi and elsewhere where the nicknames couldn't be more different. While people had monikers like Vicky, Sandy, Sanju, Goldy and Sexy (Saxena secretly loved it), pet dogs for some reason were invariably called Sherry, Whisky, and Brandy.
Hangover of a colonial past? Macaulay's children? Possibly. I can't recall Veerus or Sherus in our colonies among my friends or their pets.
Outside the gated officer communities, India was finding glorious expression. As the land reforms swept through Kerala and society heaved and churned from feudal to egalitarian, the energy of the former underclass burst through and found expression in the myriad private buses and autos named Shaju mol and Jon mon, and in nicknames like Aji, Biji, Ciby, Feby, Lijo, Sinu, and so on.
Cut to the present day and things are changing again as a large section of society opts for more traditional and Sanskritized names and conservative mores.
Tradition has its place and many of these classical names sound lovely. But what is of some concern is that we also seem to be losing some of the iconoclasm of the 70s that fearlessly questioned shibboleths and broke out of hidebound thinking to forge new paths.
Cut to the 1970s military colonies and cantonments that my siblings and I grew up in Delhi and elsewhere where the nicknames couldn't be more different. While people had monikers like Vicky, Sandy, Sanju, Goldy and Sexy (Saxena secretly loved it), pet dogs for some reason were invariably called Sherry, Whisky, and Brandy.
Hangover of a colonial past? Macaulay's children? Possibly. I can't recall Veerus or Sherus in our colonies among my friends or their pets.
Outside the gated officer communities, India was finding glorious expression. As the land reforms swept through Kerala and society heaved and churned from feudal to egalitarian, the energy of the former underclass burst through and found expression in the myriad private buses and autos named Shaju mol and Jon mon, and in nicknames like Aji, Biji, Ciby, Feby, Lijo, Sinu, and so on.
Cut to the present day and things are changing again as a large section of society opts for more traditional and Sanskritized names and conservative mores.
Tradition has its place and many of these classical names sound lovely. But what is of some concern is that we also seem to be losing some of the iconoclasm of the 70s that fearlessly questioned shibboleths and broke out of hidebound thinking to forge new paths.
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