Two years ago, a few of us from college decided to visit the largest bookstore in Madras, India. As we entered the shop, we knew we were in the right place. Hordes of girls all dressed attractively in mini-skirts and tight jeans. Loud music filled the air and more importantly the whole store was air-conditioned. Perfect for the hot weather!
As we browsed through the various authors, my friend, the one with the biggest eyes, nudged us to turn our heads 150 degrees. There across the floor, three rows from us, stood a girl with long straight hair, a smile that could launch a thousand ships, eyes that had us peering into them and so tall that if we were closer we would have had to find a stool. We didn't stop staring. We prowled like cats from row to row, always moving closer, and picking up a book in every row and saying how we loved the book, though we didn't even know if we had held it right side up! We were finally in the same row, a few shelves away.
As I perused through Calvin and Hobbes, silently throwing glances her way, she smiled. I looked around. The boys were baffled. There was no one behind us. To my greater surprise, she walked towards me. My hands trembled, I almost dropped the book, and I wanted to run.
"Hello Karthik," she whispered sweetly. Hello? Who was she? How does she know my name? My heart wasn't working so I guess my mind did triple time. It dawned on me. Her face resembled that of a classmate of mine from school. She had changed, of course, and for the better, but what the hell was her name?
She finally told me it, and gave me her number, which I safely lost, but I was so embarrassed! How could I have forgotten her name? A classmate. For years! Is it that it's difficult to remember the names of inconsequential people or do I just forget not-so-good-looking people's names? I mean, how difficult can it be to remember names! I know who Liv Tyler is and Julia Roberts, but why not ordinary people? Is something wrong with me?
Another time, at an airport, I was waiting for the midnight flight from London to arrive. It was late and I was sleepy. Bad timing, but I met an acquaintance. I smiled. He smiled. Then he walked up to me. "Hello Karthik," he said. How I hate those words! And why do I always have to acknowledge! My mind scanned my memory, desperately seeking a solution, but to no avail. I merely said "Hello."
We spoke for 20 minutes, about school, about airplanes, about airports, about life and about past adventures. We laughed. We shook hands. We bid adieu. Immediately my cousins approached me and asked me who he was and when I told them I didn't know his name, I was even more embarrassed.
There is a positive trend sweeping through the university now. Professors take an active interest to memorize the names of their students, each having a unique way of doing so. It's an effort we must all take, an effort that makes the world smaller somehow.
I decided to take the effort and analyze my shortcoming. I think the problem lies in me not giving much importance to the people I meet. I look at them as passers-by, as people who may come and who may go and thus, as people whose names don't really matter.
I want to do an MBA, but to be a manager, I must be good with people. And to be good with them, I must take the effort to remember their names. It's so much nicer when people say, "Hey Karthik" than, "Hey you," and I think they deserve the same justice. Addressing a person by his or her name makes an impression -- a first impression that is forever etched.
