Identity Crisis

Sushmita has not been an easy name to have. Every time I have said my name is Sushmita, the response has been a confused - "What?".. Having bengali looks (a round plump face!) just made matters worse, cause the few bengalis who understood my name, assumed I was 'one of them' and were left confused with my bihari surname. I have always had to repeat my name several times and ultimately spell it out for most people to understand it. As a child I used to be insanely jealous of girls who were called Preeti, Bhawna, Shweta, Ekta... Life must have been so simple for them, while till date I continue to say, "Hi, I am Sushmita S-U-S-H-M-I-T-A Jha". Quite like Bond. James Bond. Bechara Bond. :(

When Ms Sushmita Sen became Miss India and eventually Miss Universe in 1994, I celebrated more than the rest. Finally, I thought, things would improve. But her unsuccessful bollywood career didn't help me much. Except for the few times I got a "What... Sen?" response to my "Hi I am Sushmita", my name remained an unpronounceable mystery, endlessly and mercilessly distorted by one and all.

No wonder I have been called Sush all my life. Simple and easy it is. Not so much out of affection. 

The problem got solved when I moved to Bangalore. Now no one asks me to repeat my name. To them, I am Sushmitha. Like Anitha, Latha, Lalitha, Harshitha, Mamtha, Namitha, Savitha, Smitha, Vijetha... They are so '-tha' suf-fix-ated! The gentleman filling out the Airtel form on my behalf, when I had just moved, actually insisted on writing Sushmitha and not Sushmita. When I reminded him that it was MY name we were talking about and it did not have an extra 'h' (pronounced as hetch!), he simply said, "You must get it corrected madam!" So my airtel bills are addressed to Sushmitha Jha and every time I call their call center that's who I say I am, deriving cheap thrills from having a forced dual identity. I am even tempted to try the orange flower decorated braid, dipped in coconut oil, to go with the name. Soon...

I must admit though, that besides the flower decorated hair of silk saree draped women, there are other things that you won't have easy access to up north. For example, Chettinad pizza. I swear! Check out the online menu of US Pizza in Bangalore. Remember the "Mera wala pink!" Asian Paints ad? Well the south has it's own typical shade of every color you can think of, though their favorite remains orange. Color on the walls, just like their kanjeevarams, are bright and in your face. You have to see this for yourself to understand. Their deity is always in black stone with eyes firmly closed and the entrance to any temple is larger and more beautifully decorated than the temple itself. By the way, the half ticket bananas (half in size as compared to the full size version we are used to in the north) taste the same. And they are serious about their coffee. There is a coffee shop every 500 meters. No kidding. The roads are.... narrow. Yes I am being polite. It is difficult for me to adjust to NH8 when I land in Delhi now. Mayur Vihar ki gali seems like a National Highway. In short, this place is... different.

The south, despite having it's own set of extremely tough languages, has managed to keep life simple and easy. Natives do not show off. They are sincere in their work and they take their leisure seriously too. You can't get your car serviced on a Sunday as the service centers shut shop on that day. The auto wala would rather sleep during afternoons and the taxi drivers shall not take detours to fleece you.

My knowledge of Kannada is even today restricted to Namaskara, chill maadi and adjust maadi. However, the transition from Karol Bagh to Koramangala, Janakpuri to Jakkasandra, Connaught Place to Commercial Street and Mayur Vihar to Maratthahalli has been seamless despite the language barrier. As they say, one should never underestimate the power of a smile. Used along with basic and sometimes improvised sign language, it has worked wonders for me in Bangalore! I guess that's why mom called me Sushmita.. someone with a sweet smile. Thanks Ma!. I don't MIND IT! :)