Author and the long list of NRI who read this article can never relate to gogol unless they are born n brought up outside india. If you hv grew up with american/(or which ever nationatility) you never feel out of place & you pick up their culture , accent & way of living.
i hv read the novel, will catch the movie this easter break but as far as book goes its a deliamma of gogol born in US & feel that he is one of them & not an indian.
after reading the book i decided to name my son/daughter with names they relate to. but then i see kids around me, blonde blue eyed with names like chandra, madhavi, india etc.seems like indian name have become a fashion now. i am confused.
RE:this is my goal
by rayker rayker on Apr 03, 2007 12:38 PM
good heavens... lost.eu should get lost! its filled the message boards rather than some genuine comments!
My husband is a Tamilian with a long-ish name :). When some especially snooty customer representative asks me to 'just say' his name, instead of spelling it (which I always offer to do for their benefit!), I have great fun. As an NRI, I can relate to the name-syndrome. But unless I they are my friends, I make sure they call me by my entire name :). If we can pronounce their names, I don't see any reason they can't pronounce ours. After all, not all of them are named John :)
RE:Well written!
by arcanepagan on Apr 03, 2007 11:24 AM
Their tongues are not as well trained as ours to pronounce foreign syllables. Even many of us don't pronounce their names exactly as they should be. But we sure do a better job then they do! A very interesting read, one of the few good reads on rediff. And no wonder the discussion board for this one is so civil, unlike the cricket ones! good job Sandip, keep writing! I need to watch this movie.
A great movie which is somewhat comparable with "The Namesake" is Ken Loach's "A Fond Kiss" (2004). I saw "The Namesake" the other day. Though its set in New York and Loach's movie in Glasgow, there were quite a few convergences.
