Traffic blues

Recently i had been to Chennai and had good 3 days with my friends. We went around most parts of Chennai and i was quite impressed with the amount of changes that has happened in the city. There are seperate bus stands for private and government buses now - and that too very neat ones (minus the very recent litter that people beyond reform make happen ;) ) .There are lot more flyovers and even though there is a huge traffic, it is always moving.
Compare this to our city - Bangalore. The growth has taken everybody by surprise. People are forced to live in cluttered houses for huge prices. Even though we have realised that phenomenal growth for this city is inevitable we would rather tolerate and learn to live it than raise our voice against it. Infact i have started liking the challenge of wading your way through this chaos. Well.. Well.. Well... the truth is that atleast currently i am also one among the millions whos waiting for others to clear up the mess... ;)

whats in a name?

How often have you reflected upon this instrument of identity? Have you ever felt a sense of detachment to your name? Isnt it rewarding to hear somebody pronounce your name as you would like it to be.. do you bellieve thats the sweetest sound on earth? Leave alone how one feels listening to their name...what goes through your mind as soon as you hear a particular name?

Human mind runs through a number of questions as soon as it hears a name. what is the nationality of this person, is this a man or a woman, what is the meaning of this name etc etc. These are questions that i constantly ask myself whenever i am encoutered with a new name. I feel surprised when i find people live with a name without understanding what it means. "Whats in a name?" is what you get to hear from such people. Is this a sign of lesser self-worth? Is this a sign of worldly detachment? Do they feel that they just have to bear this name plate for a mere 65 years of average life time?

There is another twist to the thought, to what extent does your name reflect the context you belong to? Being in India, i find that every name signifies religion that the person belongs to. The surname clearly categorises you. I will not be expecting this in a western environment. I would sometimes wonder what really motivates a name in the other cultures!! Does it reflect the emotion of the parent when the progeny is in their hands? Is it from the lineage they belong to?
I will continue to question my understanding on names.. but be assured it will appear in this forum!!