Respectfully Ours : All Accepted!!!

 Some think it as 1st name, some as last, believe it or not there exists few who think it is 2-in-1. Hehehe!

For those some who think it as 1st name; let me inform, they don't mistake it for my name, neither I am talking about my name but my Dad's.

The believers of 1st group cannot be called fool for their belief. This name is as unique as a first name, atleast for a place where no other family shares this lastname. Yes we are the only Varshney in Ambah. Ambah- my hometown, the town where no such parallel exists, where we are known as "Varshney-ji ke bachhe"- bare our respective circles!

And thus for a big group of Ambah-ites, there is no other Varshney than Dad. Not even us!

This 1st thought looks ok to me against the 2nd. Quite contrary, huh!

How a surname being surname not-ok against surname being first name?

Well! in Ambah as generally in India, with your surname your religion and caste is linked. And it is this property that people identifies first. But what happens when you come across a surname you have never heard before and none else even after? When the surname does not reveals the caste? When you don’t get to talk with the person in-person but you have just some formal talks or have only heard of?

Ans- You try determining his caste by the outlook, personality, behavior etc.

It is these varied interpretations of caste that places the last-name as first-name considerers at better position than 2^nd. They don’t know the surname at all and so free to assume it anything on the basis of personality. But knowing the surname and interpreting it differently is less justifiable in this part of world.

Alright let me put up the interpretations now and still there is no unanimity.

One interpretation is based on the educational background- a learned man, part of the literary and educator circle, good knowledge of traditional as well as modern science subjects, judicious and a religious person. Qualifies for Brahmana caste.

Result- We respond when someone calls “Panditji”.

Another one based on his audacious personality – a daring person, takes his stand, boldly defying his wrongdoing senior (I remember once smashing one in public), always there to help “his people” who have willingly submitted to his authority- makes him a Kshatriya leader. Yes we respond to that also.

Actually, its just the way of addressing that helps s identify and we acknowledges to lot more and All Accepted!

Daughter or Granddaughter?!

Stepping out of the Morena railway station, I started the hunt.

Just entered the street of Morena, heard "Ambah?"

Turning around, said - Yep! seat hai?

Conductor replied- "Ji Bilkul", ending my hunt.

Within a minute, the vehicle (a Marshal) started moving.

I found a fat guy sitting on my right with a big suitcase, blocking my view to the outside. To my left were a seats, a girl at the window, her father with another daughter on his lap. Amazingly, there was no obstruction, I could see the outer trail of landscapes. Facing us was another row of four travellers.

As the hot air dreid up the sweat, I started "observing" this same path which I have travelled countlessly and never missed to "observe" it.

At the outfringes of Morena is the age old (alteast older than me) polytechnic college, once a shining entrance to Morena ( Yes! I have seen it in its shining form), now has lost its shine, its bright "government building" yellow color. After this starts the continuous farm land, with which I started my count of Peahens and peacocks. It is difficult to distinguish the two from a vehivle moving above 60 in the ravines of Chambal, since the peacocks are robbed off of their beautiful feathers. So I count them together with a separate entry for "Pankh wala peacock".

Before we could reach D's school, my count crossed 5 (with an obstructed right view). D's school- A shining grey stone building, younger to me but looks quite older now.

More handpumps, more bihad levelled down, more shops on the roadside, a broader road; but the speed of vehicle is still the same. It does not refer to a poor speed. Earlier same speed (high speed) on a narrower hilly track was a ride in "tora-tora"(Roller coaster) of an adventure land. Now, Thank God! we ride on road.

Count=7, saw a pair!

All the while I was sitting silent which wasn't broken even when I spot a "Pankh wala Peacock". But had to when I was few mins away from my alight point.

I asked the driver to stop at "Bade-Bijli Ghar".

One of the front row memeber asked back- "Gopendraji ki bachhi ho?"

Gosh!!

This triggered a chain reaction. Whole of vehicle came to life and started repeating the same question, again and ohh again!

All of a sudden, the father of those two girls, sitting next to me woke up with the ultimate question-

"Varshneyji ki bachhi ho ya poti" (Daughter or granddaugher of Varshneyji).

Stunned! My grandfather a Varshney and so is my father and so are my brothers and my great grandfathers.

What to answer?