Some names do leave us amused

I used to have a colleague. He was born in London. He was raised in London, worked for a while in the United Arab Emirates, and then went back to London.

One afternoon he walked into my flat and saw me oiling my hair. He shot off a question, “What are you doing?” I replied, “I am oiling my hair, trying to fight hairfall.” His next question, “What’s the oil you are using?” I replied, “It’s called Parachute coconut hair oil.” He quipped, “It’s expected to stop hairfall and is called Parachute.” We had a hearty laugh.

Some names can really leave us amused. Some weeks ago violence broke out in an American state. Some people died when police opened fire to control rampaging mobs. The commissioner of police, who was dealing with the riot, is surnamed Outlaw. I found that very interesting. She stands at the helm of the nation’s 4th largest police department, which employs more than 6,500 sworn officers and 800 civilians who work to help make Philadelphia a safer city.

I found Cardinal Sin interesting

Mount Everest has long captured the imagination of mountaineers and aspiring adventurers as the pinnacle of climbing: simply the highest point on the planet that ‘must be reached’. To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the first successful summit, the British climber — the 16x summit non-Sherpa world record-holder — created a new show to take audiences on a fascinating journey through the history of the highs and lows of summit attempts on one of the world’s most magnificent mountains. The climber’s surname is Cool. He is called Kenton Cool.

Another Englishman, who spoke of love in an incorruptible manner and powerfully redefined the contours of human feelings and saw reason in the unreasonableness of passion, was interestingly called Wordsworth. The Romantic poet, William Wordsworth, couldn’t have been better christened.    

While talking about the English we mustn’t forget their great Scottish neighbour and inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell. Bell rang the bell for us to respond to the realities of life much before the Apple began to ripen.

A news correspondent, who used to report developments in the world of aviation, was named Biman Mukherjee. The Bengali word “Biman” means airline.

And we all are familiar with the former American Education Secretary, Margaret Spellings. Also, we musn’t forget her country cousin and famous singer James Lance, who is aptly surnamed Bass.

And, of course, the world’s most famous footballer, who kicks the ball with the precision of a surgeon, is known as Messi. I am glad his guardian replaced the ‘y.’