In the realm of funny Indian Names.

In the delightful world of names, I once served alongside Major Lung, who hailed from the Northeast. FWC Lung’s initials, standing for Fair Weather Cock, were as amusing as they were embarrassing. Meanwhile, the soldier JB Sister turned out to be John Baby Sister, a rather masculine Naik with a feminine name.

As a commanding officer, I had my adjutant named Major Bhu Dev Singh, the supposed “Giant of the Earth” in English. He would thunderously announce his name on the telephone, leaving callers anticipating a colossal figure. However, upon meeting him, they were met with a surprise—Bhu Dev was a mere 5 feet 2 inches.

Then there was my driver, Annar Singh (Pomegranate Singh), prompting laughter from my kids. Another gem was my Sahayak, Jadung, whose name never failed to be a source of amusement for my son. Once I had one of my office runners named as “Naik Takhat ( Crown) Singh” suggesting a royal and hefty figure but he was thinly built and mosquito like.

In North India, some parents fancy naming their sons after military ranks. However, the irony sets in when someone like Major Singh ends up with a rank much lower in status like Havildar (Sergeant) Major Singh. If he ever got promoted to an officer rank imagine the humor in calling of “Major Major Singh.”

Names of places can also tickle the funny bone. In the South, villages boast names with enough alphabets to form a tongue twister. During a logistics briefing, a mispronounced village turned into a comical blunder—TeriMeriKundi, which inadvertently meant “Yours and Mine Ass.”

Venturing further, villages like “DufferPur” near Derabassi Punjab suggest a population lacking in brainpower, while “Kurrewala” implies a village full of filth. Uttar Pardesh contributes to the humor with “Kanjar Purwa,” translating to a village of bastards, and the village amusingly named “Chorpur” in Rajasthan signifying a village full of thieves. A funny name of a village in Punjab called “Billimar” (the cat killers) and a village name in Gujarat as “Gadha” (the donkey) evoke much laughter. Ah, the quirks of nomenclature! After all what is in a Name!

Guchi.