My name..

'hey ami' 'amitz' 'amit' 'am' 'anitha' 'amritha' 'amidhe'.. I don't think I will be successful to list out all the names with which I am addressed other than 'amita'. However I never spent much time to correct if it is any different from 'amita' – but the fact remains that I always feel my name is an intrinsic part of me.

My mother was always called with her cute name and many of my family members do not know her actual name (the one which is mentioned in her official records). Probably this is one of the reasons, my parents hurried to name me even before any other name of mine became popular. 'Amita' – I always liked and few of the reasons are –

• It just has five letters
  
• Alphabetically it comes the first slot - experiences of being in the first slot could be any extremes – so I like it for such experiences
  
• Not very common in my place (south India)
  

By the way, my name means 'Unlimited'. Who ever knew the meaning of the name often asked – what is that you have without any limits..?? The answer for which was always a blush and a sheepish smile.

Apart from giving identity to the person, name shapes personality and affects personal growth. I believed the same and had it at the back of my mind whenever I have a chance or choice to call a person by a name. Calling them by the name given by the parents has always been my choice 

Though the corporate world has come out of the culture to address the person by the id/numbers etc – treating the name very mechanically is very common. Emails being the most common way of communication amongst the employees of multinational companies 'Dear XYZ', 'Hi XYZ' are used just for the heck of it.

Some mails do not have such formalities – and I really respect their honesty.

Some mails really give the feel that they had the words 'Dear Amita' in their mind when they wrote.

The whole purpose of this blog is about this category – mails which address very vaguely.

In the midst of such experiences (which are all the more common with a new joinee) I can never forget this experience.

I wrote a mail to one of the heads asking for his time to join a meeting which is often not very interesting to many such heads. Just after they read through that mail, they would hardly be bothered to check their calendar if there is any available slot for the proposed time or if there is any other slot which he/she can propose.

I get a reply from this person –

Amit,

[[[with full of explanation and details]]]]

Let me know if you need further input/clarity.

Thanks,

(his name)

 
 

I did not notice that my name is wrongly spelt (as I almost gave up seeing the way I am addressed) and read through the inputs he gave. Another mail comes from the same person after 22 mins –

"I am sorry for not fully spelling your name, Amita."

Ghosh!! I was speechless for quite some time as it is very unlike of such people. The fact that he replied after about 20 minutes also intrigued me a lot.

My reply – "Dear ….. My first reaction once I saw this mail is astonishment!! (This is the first time I ever saw someone giving so much importance to the name – I will definitely remember this experience for my life). ………"

His reply – "I believe - Mistake is a mistake and more so when it is related to one's own identity - it is important for us to respect and acknowledge.

Take care,….."

Amazing.. 