Amir Timur / Tamerlane SOURCE
If you are a celeb of this land
and keep your baby’s name
in the name of that dreaded Timur of Persia
you are likely to set evil eye on yourself.
Yet this celeb couple did just that.
Imagine the aftermath!
All on a sudden this ember of a name
was the cynosure of all eyes.
A huge carrion flower popped up
out of void as it were
for all those scavenging insects
starving since eons.
How they were lured
by the corpse-smell of a name!
What a feast of blitz they had!
Such barbecue of spoken words
with the spice of insolence!
Well, as of now,
(thanks to the paparazzi
secretly stationed outside the baby’s home
to snap his every public outing
and vowing oodles of scoops)
the name Taimur is synonymous
to adorable, sweet, charming, winsome etc. etc.
The same public
that went berserk over the Muslim name
now cannot handle
the overloaded cuteness of it.
‘What’s in a name type’ of luxury
can’t be afforded in a country
where divisive politics rules the roost;
where illiteracy is bliss;
where dark age is just a step away;
where dream has taken leave
giving room to nightmare.
Taimur Ali Khan with mom Kareena
Posted for Poetry Pantry #361 @ Poets United
sumanar/lekha 
Very topical indeed and important only because of what it says under the surface… nicely done!
A heart-breaking piece
What’s in a name? Sometimes, somewhere its can bring back unwanted memories and the child has to prove they are an individual, a separate person living their own life and must be judged for themselves alone.
What a vacuous empty world we live in, where celebrities are of interest to any of us. At least in Bollywood there is not a fascination for a celebrity’s gargantuan heavily insured arse ( K Kardashian) like there is in Hollywood.
Well not yet anyway !:)
I wish I knew a little bit more about what inspired this poem….but I feel the darkness underneath & I feel the hell of those divisive politics & dreams taking leave. And, as for the paparazzi, truly people should have other things to concern themselves with besides focusing such attention on a mother and baby.
A Bollywood couple faced a lot of backlash over the naming of their son after Timur, the Turkish ruler who invaded India. Public opinion filtered through petty politics has grabbed this country already reeling under the threat of communal disharmony. What a tragedy for a pluralistic, multilingual and multi ethnic society that India had been since the ages!
A great and inspiring poem that is a delight to read. Thanks for sharing and greetings to you!
This was a enlightening read, as all of your poems do. thanks for sharing.
There are names that can fill you with dread, but I though that given enough time it could evaporate… My grandfather removed a second name (Adolf) because of what it became associated with…
Oh yes what we want to judge as the media fans the flames….it seems there is nowhere in the world where we can escape this hypocrisy. Very visceral poem as I felt those flames Sumana!
I love, love, love… when poetry teaches me things (I should know).
yes, “dark age is just one step away.” I feel bad for all the girls named Isis, once a goddess and now…
“A barbeque of spoken words with a spice of insolence” … so descriptive! Sadly, the story could transpose to other countries and other times. Intuitively written.
I had to look up the name. (My knowledge of history is so deficient.). I like your commentary about the weight of a name and how the masses, already divided, can spend time on what celebrities do.
Heartbreaking piece
What an adorable child. But poor wee one, already in the public eye.
Yes I can relate to the feeling.. what people must go through .. the consequences of choosing a name that creates a stir.. Love the picture of Kareena and the baby 🙂
A name can hold a lot of baggage for the baby that it is bestowed upon. Children should be given names that they can own – not names that own them.
Names do have impact – those who seek the limelight should be especially sensitive to public opinion especially in tense communal times. Imagine for example calling a child Hitler or Beelzebub- the burden would be great and the impact profound. Aside from all the debates though your words were so profound
“All on a sudden this ember of a name
was the cynosure of all eyes.
A huge carrion flower popped up
out of void as it were”
What’s in a name? A name can be everything. It does seem a shame to tag a baby with a heavy load such as this.