I was recently clearing up some clutter in my house when i came across an old toy of mine. it was blue with a spongy feel. though it had accumulated a lot of dirt over the years of hibernation it was forced into, it still retained its blue colour and i remembered in a flash what we had called it back then - bluean..simple and concise. memories of my other toys- reddan, joker , all named according to appearance flooded back and i wondered how i had gone from the simplicity of youth to the arrogance of teenage and now,to the sophistication of youth and how it had been reflected in something so silly as the naming of a toy.
from the association of colours and looks into names we had grown into giving better suitable names to our toys and thus were born pooja, kalyani, deepika, betty and so on. the older ones still remained close at heart and continued in their prominent positions in our toy racks.
growing further up, the arrogance of teenage rushed in and playing with toys was no longer "the" thing. so the toys we got in that period still remain orphaned and anonymous. and once the days of teenage gave way to youth, that inner longing for childhood expressed itself and i was back into the wonder land of toys. but now, i had to take the sophistication of a "wise" youth back into childhood , so the books i read influenced the names i gave. and now i have a puppy named louis john gresham, a teddy named micheal william fitzgerald and two dolls named elizabeth jane montgomery and richard frederick montgomery .the latest addition to this royal entourage is elinor merlin montgomery whose naming ceremony racked many a brain.
and now as i see my old toy sitting beside these royal namesakes, i understand that whatever i call them , they remain lifeless, uttering nothing in response and sigh at the futility of many an hour spent in searching for that perfect name!
