What’s in a name? Not much,
really. But it is something that is an integral part of every person. It is the
first thing by which a person is identified. So, one must not forget the
importance of a name, especially that of a person…
My mom had already named some of
her nephews and nieces. Now, it was time for her to name her own son… she named
me Shivaji. What does the name mean? To be honest, I don’t quite now. My common
sense tells me it is a derivative of the name of Lord Shiva. The great
Maratha king, Chhatrapati Shivaji (the antecedent being his title) was born in
the fort of Shivneri which I reckon contributed to him being named thus.
Some people say that my name is very uncommon. Well, “very” is a relative word. There are some Indian historical figures/personalities of past and present who I know have the same name as mine. I enumerate few of them here…
<2> Shivaji Ganeshan
<3> Shivaji Banerjee
<4> Shivaji Ganguly
So, ladies and gentlemen, what
do we have here… a great king and leader of men, a great south-Indian actor, a former
goal-keeper for the Indian national football team and a martial arts expert of
world reknown. What will be my fate..? Hey, I am not worrying too much about
that. For whatever my philosophy is worth, I believe life will give me what I
deserve! (What I deserve, I don’t know yet.) Every man is the maker of his own
destiny. Whatever happens to man in his life, is the direct or indirect
consequence of what he does.