On 09/10/2007, Deepa Mohan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > In Tamil Nadu, at least, in the old days, children who contracted > dread diseases like smallpox or cholera, or who were born after many > other children died, had their names changed to, or christened as, > something unattractive like "picchaiswami" (alms or charity from god) > or "vemban" (one who is bitter like the neem tree) in the hope that > the gods would find the names unattractive enough to spare the
In Kerala during the days when untouchability was prevalent, apparently kids born in lower castes would be taken to the local upper-caste overlord (usually the one from whom the dad would have leased land for farming) who would name the child as he fancied - boys could get named after farming tools and girls after kitchen utensils, for example. Binand
