We chose Reuben and Noah for the grandchildren.” Former professor Paramjeet Tewari, who now lives in New Zealand, says: “Colleagues of our son Kabir called him Kabar.
Sikh unisex first names are more problematic,” he says. In the UK, many Punjabi children suffer taunts because of their names. Very few people know meanings and etymology of their names. I have to tell relatives the names are from Gurbani. “I named my grandchildren Aneel and Leela. You need names that are easier to pronounce and are not distorted - Deeksha becomes Dick-shaa!” Naming a newborn is not easy now more so in the diaspora. London-based Punjabi poet Amarjit Chandan says “Baby names reflect the parents’ sense and sensibility, and their identity. It was common for Hindus to make their firstborn a Sikh this was when names such as Jarnail Singh and Major Singh came up.Ĭultural-linguist Surjit Lee from Patiala says the need for assimilation in a new country is leading to more “universally accepted” names. After annexation of Punjab by the British in 1849, Sikhs were given preference in the armed forces. However, the present pursuit for global names is seen by many as linked to wishes of living or settling down abroad.Ī cultural observer says socio-economic reasons play a role. This extended to Englishmedium public schools and convents where Harinder would be nicknamed Harry. One reason was that the European nannies could not pronounce native names.
Some dismiss it as a trend that existed in colonial India when Christian names were in vogue in Patiala where the many children of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh had names such as Greeta, Wendy, Susie, Eric. Recently, an invitation card for a party here to bless a new arrival, said: ‘Amy is here’. “A cousin in Australia sent us ‘Ashleen’.” My family did not agree to an Urdu name so, Christine! It will help her when she goes abroad.”Ī young man from Sangrur, aiming to drive trailers in Canada, beams that his niece has a ‘foreign’ name. Though many Punjabis have long had nicknames like Happy, Rosy, Sweetie, the difference is that now the change is coming in the ‘real’ name.Ī writer from Ludhiana named his 10-year-old daughter Christine: “I wanted her to have a different name. With the dollar, education abroad and immigration dream being cherished across the state, it is little wonder that western names have started replacing the ethnic names. Christine, Sarah, Amy or Kevin: these names are no longer alien to the Punjabi soil.
0 kommentar(er)
