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Yesterday I was talking about the wide prevalence of Venka and Subba as prefixes of names in Nellore district and surroundings during my generation and before it.
I forgot to mention the Subba who was in my physics class at IIT KGP in 1970 and then migrated to IIT KNP and retired recently as the esteemed Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. All his classmates used to call him, 'Hey! Subba!'
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Yesterday I was talking about the wide prevalence of Venka and Subba as prefixes of names in Nellore district and surroundings during my generation and before it.
I forgot to mention the Subba who was in my physics class at IIT KGP in 1970 and then migrated to IIT KNP and retired recently as the esteemed Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. All his classmates used to call him, 'Hey! Subba!'
When I mentioned about this Subba to an IAS Babu, all he had to say was:
"Governor, Reserve Bank? Oh, he would then be getting one of the largest bungalows in New Delhi"
Anyway, the reason for the popularity of Venka and Subba in the Nellore surroundings is simple. The god of the millennial Tirumala temple is Lord Venkateswara (aka Balajee, Sreenivas, et al). And the god of the nearby Tiruttani temple is Subrahmanya Swami (aka, Kumara Swami, Murugan et al).
So during those times, when transport was by bullock carts, the mobility of people was restricted to temples nearby and that explains it all. Those days everyone was a believer and they sought the protection of nearby gods rather than politicians and goondas.
When I landed up at Vizagh for my university studies, all our servant-couples had names like Appanna and Appalamma, almost without exception. And when you go to Ajanata Hotel for your idli-dosa, all you had to do was to call:
"Hullo! Appa Rao Garu!"
and you would be sure one of the waiters lounging there would respond with a knowing smile.
Failing which you try:
"Hullo! Simhachalam Garu!"
The reason is simple. The god nearest to Vizagh is stationed on the hill temple at Simhachalam and is known as Appala Narasimha Swami. This god is a unique combo of the Varaha (boar) Avatar and the Narasimha (man-lion) Avatar.
And then I reached IIT KGP and on the very first day I heard the names Gouri and Girija for well-known reasons. Unfortunately both turned out to be grumpy males.
I guess this practice of naming kids by the nearest local deities used to be universal in India. The Cow Belt was teeming with Raams and Krishnas.
My wife didn't hail from our Nellore district but the nearby Kurnool district which had their Madhwa sect temple at Mantralyam. And Madhwas those days worshiped Raam and Krishna and their aliters and bhaktas.
The grandfather of my wife was called Hanumanta Rao and he named his sons, Narayana Rao, Raama Rao and Kesava Rao. And my father-law turned out to be, guess what, Madhava Rao. He named his only son, Raamakrishna, leaving no chance for another son.
During the long interlude between my engagement and marriage in the late 1970s, my friend, NP, asked me once to go to the Railway Station at KGP and pick up his parents hailing from Kurnool (NP was traveling to Delhi). And I received the elderly couple and put them in a rickshaw and was riding my pushbike beside them. They had heard that I had got engaged to a Madhwa girl from Kurnool and NP's father asked me her name. And I blurted out:
"Rukmini"
And the old man smiled and said:
"It must be either Rukmini or Radha...these are the only two names of Madhwa girls from Kurnool. Does she have any sisters?"
"Yes, just one"
"What is her name?"
"Radha"
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