Whenever my cousins wanted me to suggest names for their newborn kids (there aren't many), I used to ask them the same age-old question: what's in a name? It was invariably my youngest brother who used to come up with fundu names for the kids. I never thought he has such prudence when he himself demanded his name to be changed when he was in the 4th class. He refused to go to school (really, a tactics he uses even now!) until my parents agree for a slight change in his name.

What I am driving at is nothing but the problems I am facing here due to my name in my Visa. Even though I have a decent name, as you remember, Santhosh Kumar, the guys at the US Consulate at Madras distorted it so badly to have "proper" First Name/Middle Initial/Surname combination that even I won't vouch that the name printed on the Visa is mine.

According to the Visa, my name goes like this:

Surname: Chellappan
Given Name: Pillai Sreedeviamma Santhosh Kumar

Oh, my God! Let me tell you this much. My (poor) parents are the culprits. My father's name is Chellappan Pillai and mother's name is Sreedevi Amma. Now can you figure out what has happened to my Visa?

One fine morning, (or was it an evening?) I came to this country with this Visa. For an immigrant like me, everything is my Visa. The HR people in my company had a terrific time in fixing my First Name/Middle Initial/Surname formality. After a series of discussions, even though I would like to be known as Santhosh C. Pillai, I agreed to be (well) known as Santhosh K. Chellappan. So in all the documents-ranging from my Social Security Card to Medical Insurance to Paycheck to Bank Account to Credit Union Membership Card to a lot of other silly cards-my name is printed as Santhosh K. Chellappan. Well and fine.

Then what's the matter? Another of the fine evenings, I went to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Agency for a written test to get my NJ Driver's License, a drivers' license being the most important id in this country. I stood in the line for about 20 minutes and the gentleman at the counter wished me as sweet as possible, as if he knew me for about 20 years. As part of imbibing this culture, I also knew how to please (or just wish?) people with a lot of introductory words starting with: "hi buddy, how're you doin' this evening..."

You are required to show your Passport at the counter, and whatever id's you have to prove that you are what you are. I had a bundle of them with me. Passport, Certificates, Appointment letter, Paycheck, Social Security Card and what not. The guy at the counter, still smiling, looked into my application, where the name was clearly printed as "Santhosh K. Chellappan", and into my Visa paper. He said: "hey, we've a situation". (Situation in the US means "Big problem") Your name in the Visa is not the one that you filled up in the application. I can only allow you to take the test in the name of "Pillai S. Chellappan". As clever software, which throws out this tricky question "Do you want to continue? (Yes, No, Cancel)", he asked me if he could proceed with that. I showed him all the documents, all the cards I have and all the faces. Finally he said: "Hey, this is the NJ law, I can not do anything". I postponed taking the test to a later time. Anyway I can drive with my International Driver's Permit (IDP) for one year. And after that? Lemme see!

Moral of the story:

Anybody who's planning to come to the US: better be cautious when you go for Visa stamping. Write clearly what you want your name to be in the Visa. Do not, please DO NOT expand your initial at any cost. Do not show them that you know a lot of fonts and do not write your name in "BrushScript MT". You'll be taken for a cool ride over here...

Here is the update: I went to the NJ DMV again during February 1999, because my IDP was to expire on 16th March, 1999. This time, I did not try to convince, but agreed to accept the DL as Pillai S. Chellappan. I got NJ DL on 9th April, 1999. Thanks to my Microsoft Visa, I got back my name, and my WA DL has my name as Santhosh C. Pillai. The process of changing my name from Santhosh Chellappan to Santhosh Pillai is complete now.

(Written on August 4, 1998)

Read my other e-mails:
I Am an INDIYAN Now!
My Experiments with the Americans
My Experiments with the Americans...4
The Joy of Six (Plagiarism at Its Best?)
My Experiments with the Americans...5
FOKANA - All In The Game
On E-Mail Hoaxes
I too Got a Ticket
War and Peace