I remember as a little girl I used to get so embarrassed when someone would ask me this very common question :
" What's your name ?"
Before even uttering it I could imagine the bemused look on their faces when they would hear the word "Zohra" ... !!!
But I can't blame them because most of the non Muslims would not understand the word at first , although at least two popular , but old Bollywood songs had the word "Zohra" in the mukhdas
So it was heart breaking to see that after much effort when I thought they had finally got it right , they would ruin it with the pronunciation or the spelling 😀 !!!
Even among Muslims "Zohra" was , still is , and quite strangely so , not a preferred name ...
So even Muslims would give a not-so-happy look on hearing "Zohra" as if the name had some underlying sin attached to it 😛 !!!
So for the first twelve or thirteen years of my life I grew up eagerly wishing that my parents would change my name to a more familiar , and preferably , Z-less word 😒 !!!
This heartfelt wish is now more than four decades old and has thankfully outgrown its youthful eagerness 😌
Back then the British had already left our country , after first being the catalyst that united hundreds of warring riyasats into one Bharat , and then treacherously dividing it into India and Pakistan !!!
Too much had changed for those who had experienced the horrors of partition ...
And whatever had changed was too shocking to ask for more ...
The various "conversion ceremonies" were to take some more years before vested interests got back to them
And so no one paid much heed to my "childish desire" to somehow be able to detach myself from The "Zohra" Effect 😑
Meanwhile another two - three years went by ... I was about fourteen or fifteen when I met Aunty Olivia ...
An extremely sophisticated and dainty lady , her hand writing was like musical notes written on paper 😍
She was the first person who pronounced my name correctly in the very first attempt , and with her characteristic sweet smile , spontaneously remarked that it was a beautiful and unique name
She was a gentle and kind woman
But she was not trying to be just good to me by superficially "sympathizing" with me on this name issue 💗
Her positivity and genuineness were real
Among other meanings like "radiant" and "beautiful" , the word "Zohra" is also the Urdu name for Planet " Venus " ...
I had also discovered that there used to be a famous singer in Hindi Cinema Industry called Zohrabai Ambalewaali 😊 ...
This , and of course the songs "Zohra Jabeen ... " and "Zohra Jamaal ... " did help lift my spirit quite often 😊 !!!
But it was actually Aunty Olivia , who made me fall in love with my name , and ever since , whatever be people's reaction , I am very happy that my wish to free myself from "The Zohra Effect" was never fulfilled 😙
While Shakespeare may have said "What's in a name" , honestly anyone calling a rose by some other name does make a fool of himself and shows how ignorant he is 😏 !!!
Your name is the door to your identity
It is said that your name also has an impact on your personality
May be that is another reason why siblings are so different from one another 😎
I do realize as I look back that I am very fortunate to have met sensible and sweet people like Aunty Olivia , who by their deeds and actions transmitted goodness all around ...
Their reassuring smiles promised a better tomorrow 💞
They may physically not be near me but continue to remain in my thoughts
Their goodness is inspirational and their positivity is contagious
Their numbers must increase because they are the ones who do not insist on changing a mere name , they invisibly , yet decisively , transform a negative into a positive .
" What's your name ?"
Before even uttering it I could imagine the bemused look on their faces when they would hear the word "Zohra" ... !!!
But I can't blame them because most of the non Muslims would not understand the word at first , although at least two popular , but old Bollywood songs had the word "Zohra" in the mukhdas
So it was heart breaking to see that after much effort when I thought they had finally got it right , they would ruin it with the pronunciation or the spelling 😀 !!!
Even among Muslims "Zohra" was , still is , and quite strangely so , not a preferred name ...
So even Muslims would give a not-so-happy look on hearing "Zohra" as if the name had some underlying sin attached to it 😛 !!!
So for the first twelve or thirteen years of my life I grew up eagerly wishing that my parents would change my name to a more familiar , and preferably , Z-less word 😒 !!!
This heartfelt wish is now more than four decades old and has thankfully outgrown its youthful eagerness 😌
Back then the British had already left our country , after first being the catalyst that united hundreds of warring riyasats into one Bharat , and then treacherously dividing it into India and Pakistan !!!
Too much had changed for those who had experienced the horrors of partition ...
And whatever had changed was too shocking to ask for more ...
The various "conversion ceremonies" were to take some more years before vested interests got back to them
And so no one paid much heed to my "childish desire" to somehow be able to detach myself from The "Zohra" Effect 😑
Meanwhile another two - three years went by ... I was about fourteen or fifteen when I met Aunty Olivia ...
An extremely sophisticated and dainty lady , her hand writing was like musical notes written on paper 😍
She was the first person who pronounced my name correctly in the very first attempt , and with her characteristic sweet smile , spontaneously remarked that it was a beautiful and unique name
She was a gentle and kind woman
But she was not trying to be just good to me by superficially "sympathizing" with me on this name issue 💗
Her positivity and genuineness were real
Among other meanings like "radiant" and "beautiful" , the word "Zohra" is also the Urdu name for Planet " Venus " ...
I had also discovered that there used to be a famous singer in Hindi Cinema Industry called Zohrabai Ambalewaali 😊 ...
This , and of course the songs "Zohra Jabeen ... " and "Zohra Jamaal ... " did help lift my spirit quite often 😊 !!!
But it was actually Aunty Olivia , who made me fall in love with my name , and ever since , whatever be people's reaction , I am very happy that my wish to free myself from "The Zohra Effect" was never fulfilled 😙
While Shakespeare may have said "What's in a name" , honestly anyone calling a rose by some other name does make a fool of himself and shows how ignorant he is 😏 !!!
Your name is the door to your identity
It is said that your name also has an impact on your personality
May be that is another reason why siblings are so different from one another 😎
I do realize as I look back that I am very fortunate to have met sensible and sweet people like Aunty Olivia , who by their deeds and actions transmitted goodness all around ...
Their reassuring smiles promised a better tomorrow 💞
They may physically not be near me but continue to remain in my thoughts
Their goodness is inspirational and their positivity is contagious
Their numbers must increase because they are the ones who do not insist on changing a mere name , they invisibly , yet decisively , transform a negative into a positive .
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