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Me ...
मुख मिष्टा, ह्रिदय दुष्टा, रग रग मैं बस्ती ठगेश्वरी,
वणिक पुत्रम्, सभी दुष्टा, महादुष्टा महेश्वरी
Name
Sorabh Sodhani.
A recent conversation with babu-ji (my grandpa) confirmed that we could have gone ahead with Maheshwari instead of Sodhani, had one of our ancestors not chosen to start a business of dhani's (granaries). He made 100 of them as a start, which got us the name so-dhani.
Phew! So much for the name! There's another huge story about "Maheshwari" 's etymology, but will keep that for some other time ...
click the pic to enlarge
Real Names
Topi (IITB)
A name which was my identity throughout the golden era of my life - at IIT. I still remember, the not-so-pg-PG Satish (of DN wing) started calling me this in my freshie year. (Wow! 1997 ... it's been 13 years now)! Ofcourse, like with all freshie-related-keeda, this too happened around the H2 carrom table ...
This name has had its derivatives. Bharat has many-a-times called me "2-pi" ... which also tempted me to have "6.284" (which is two times pi).
Toby (UK)
My name, the one pair of syllables that make 'So-rabh' up, was too difficult for those firangi fellows to pronounce, so had to ask them to call me 'Topi'. They started calling me Toby, though. The irony is, even my Czech and Slovak house-mates would find my name hard to pronounce! I mean ... they had names like KZSHUTYHSECKA ...
Monty (IIT CoffeeShack)
Till today, the guys at the shack call me Monty, and I call them Monty in return. Till today, we don't know each other's names - except for Vijay - but whenever we meet, we meet like we're the best friends. God knows why Monty, though! Those fellows are one set of people whom I have always admired - for their simple, unambitious life!
Tubby Boss (IITB)
It's normally Bunnu, Bharat, Sari and Neha who call me so ... and I love this derivative of topi. Will find time to write the story about this very soon. The most recent development, though, is that I have established a brand of tee shirts, which I call "Toube Bas" ... an exotic French derivative of "Tubby Boss". Check www.toubebas.com!
SoSo (Guido)
Guido Barbatto (Chelsea supporter, Italian) is one of the two great friends I made in the UK. The other one is Craig McKenna (Liverpool supporter, Englishman), my boss-cum-manager at William Hill, Tollgate. The only guy who actually calls me SoSo, and pretty consistently, is Guido.
I chose SoSo when the CC at IIT asked us to choose less-than-5-letter names for the new email accounts. I wanted topi, but since that was ticked-off as unprofessional, had to go with SoSo.
click the pic to enlarge
Number
13.
I just can't help but remember Piyush Singhal here! Apart from the love for Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, and Tulsi, we shared an unparalleled love for the number - 13. We were lead proponents of the trescadecaphobia (fear of number 13) concept at IIT ... and I am sure, the next time we meet, we are going to share quiet a few laughs about that!
Whenever I can, I try to include the number 13 in my life - my room at IIT (131), my phone number, my jersey number in volleyball (I chose to go with number 1 in football, being a GK), my vest number in athletics. Incidently, my roll number at IITB was 97D11013 (a string usually found adjacent to another string, "FF").
Country
India.
Usually, I am proud of India. Very much due to the history, but also a lot on grounds of the general attitude found on the streets here. The moment I start digging deep within, though, the pride takes a momentary backfoot. It happens rarely, but happens nonetheless.
Mother-Tongue
Marwari.
A language which mellows me everytime I hear it in a song - especially the "padharo mhaare des" line in Kesariya Baalma by Zakir Hussain and Ustad Sultan Khan. Listen to it here.
Irony: I have no clue of the majority of the language. My nani speaks with me in Marwari, but I can barely make real sense out of it. One thing I would want to be corrected in my childhood would be the distance from the language. I can still learn it - but you know how difficult it's going to be.
Mother-Land
Sikar, Rajashtan.
Actually, that's where my paternal family hails from. My mother hails from Molasar, Rajasthan. Rajasthan is one place where I have spent not more than two days of my conscious life (during Chadha's brother's marriage). But very, very soon, I will. If all goes well, Dec 2009 will see me cycling all through the sandy Rajashtan, India's own Texas. Until I do that, I am not going to feel truly Rajasthani! No .. I didn't say that ...
Update: Dec'09 came and went, Dec'10 came and went, but neither me nor my friend Ashish Tripathi managed a cycle trip of Rajashtan. Shame on us.
Religion
Manchester United. Sport. Friendship. Football. VolleyBall. Running. Hockey. (In no particular order)
Paternal Hierarchy
LaxmiChand Sodhani > Bhairon Lal Sodhani > Madan Mohan Sodhani > Chandra Mohan Sodhani > Sorabh Sodhani (Oh c'mon! I had to show this off - that I know my great-great-grandfather's name)!
Favourite Films
Hindi: Golmaal, Chashme Buddoor, Angoor, Hip Hip Hurray, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, Chupke Chupke, Khel, Karz.
Others: The Shawshank Redemption, Life is Beautiful, Cinema Paradiso, Remember the Titans, The Monsters Inc., Forrest Gump, 50 First Dates.
Favourite Shows (Current)
The Simpsons, Whose Line Is It Anyway, Friends, Seinfield.
I go crazy if I stay away from these things for long ...
Playing Football. Watching Football. Occasional Running. General Chatting and Farting with Friends. Writing. Coffee with Bourn Bourn biscuits. Music. Watching my fav. Shows.
There are some other direct roles that I am trying to fulfill in life (apart from being a proud son, a spoiled brother, an ignorant mamashree of a carefree bhanjashree, a forgetful friend, and Topi):
- an emotional Manchester United fan who also supports Valencia, Juventus and Werder Bremen in their respective leagues and hates Chelsea, Arsenal, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Roma, and Bayern Munich;
- Bombay76 - The IITB Souvenir Shoppe (Caretaker)
- Toube Bas - Expressive, Exclusive, Expensive T-shirts (Peon)
- Young Veterans Football Club of IIT Bombay (Player) - That's our Saturday and Sunday morning football group. Home Ground: IIT Bombay Gymkhana. We do not play away matches ...
Earlier roles that I have, fairly successfully, played:
- MeraSport Business Head, Co-Founder;
- SportzVillage Employee - International Business Head
- IIT Bombay Alumni Association, Bangalore Chapter: Exec. Comm. Member
- Football Club of Urban Koramangala (FCUK): Player.
- World Hockey, Volunteer, Hockey World Cup 2006 (Monchengladbach);
- Phonologies, Lead Developer and Systems Software Engineer, IVR and Speech Recognition Systems, (Bombay);
- Coventry Business School, Student, Sports Mananagement MBA (Coventry);
- Sport Business, Intern, Sports Research and Publications (London);
- William Hill UK, Shop Customer Service Assistant, Sports Betting (Coventry);
- Coventry Business School, Part-Time Telecaller, International Students Counselling (Coventry);
- Papers4You, Academic Writer (Coventry);
- Syvum, Content Writer and Developer, Bombay. This was during the 3rd Year.
My Current Fav. Number!
(before you read on, listen to this song here ... opens in a new window).
Idiots Love Idioms!
Play by Ear
When I first heard this phrase (that was yesterday, when I finally downloaded and watched the movie ... oops ... the brilliant Korean movie, "In Mood For Love" ... recommended vehemently by Parle urf Prateek Mehta), I thought that probably a word was missing. Grammatically, it should have been, "Play by the ear", no? I thought may be the subtitles guy had got it wrong ...
A little bit of etymology research revealed that the phrase was first spoken in the Shakespearean era ... and I would rather not talk about the grammatical ways of those times. So, "Play by ear" it is!
The phrase holds a similar meaning to the phrase, "Cross the bridge when it comes" ... as in, act impromptu as per the situation's demands ...
Neat, methinks! Next time someone asks me about my plans regarding whatever, I would probably be blahing, "Hmmm ... no plans ... I'll play by ear ... " ... and then show-off at length about my love for idioms/figures-of-speech ... :P
A little bit of etymology research revealed that the phrase was first spoken in the Shakespearean era ... and I would rather not talk about the grammatical ways of those times. So, "Play by ear" it is!
The phrase holds a similar meaning to the phrase, "Cross the bridge when it comes" ... as in, act impromptu as per the situation's demands ...
Neat, methinks! Next time someone asks me about my plans regarding whatever, I would probably be blahing, "Hmmm ... no plans ... I'll play by ear ... " ... and then show-off at length about my love for idioms/figures-of-speech ... :P