MonAmi

My habit of writing my name with a capital 'M' and a capital 'A' (MonAmi) has elicited comments from people over the years..........even when I was young enough to not understand the reason myself. Over the years I kind of liked the idea of generating this initial response that has always acted as an ice-breaker, especially when I am facing an interview.

My name is a fusion of two French words - 'Mon' and 'Ami'.......'Mon' in French means 'My' and 'Ami' is used for either 'Friend' or 'Dear', i.e., my name simply means "My Friend" or "My Dear"....... an endearment in French!

I first heard the word (other than hearing it as my name) as it is meant in French, "mon ami", in Agatha Christie's books - where one of her main protagonist, Hercule Poirot, a Belgian detective, was given to remark to his friend as 'mon ami' whenever he made a particularly significant point. Agatha Christie fans would not have any trouble in fathoming this et all.

Though my name is French, the best part is, no French would christen his/her child 'MonAmi'.....it would be same as christening some child as 'Good Morning'! My father gave me this name, mainly because he thought that his first-born should have a different and unique name, yet have a touch of lilting music in it. He wanted it to be aristocratic too, fit for his little princess. And to him French was a much more aristocratic language than Queen's English. He chose MonAmi because he felt it. I was his very dear little daughter.

The intriguing part about my name is that when it goes with my surname, it doesn't sound so alien. My full name is MonAmi Banerjee, and I am an ethnic Indian Bengali. Many have confused my name to be of Bengali origin, mainly because the pronunciation is quite similar to a Bengali name and on top of that MonAmi has a Bengali meaning too!

In Bengali, 'Mon' means 'heart', and 'Ami' is used for 'Me/My/Mine'...... so, in Bengali too my name in a way means 'My Dear'.......but, the point to be noticed here is that both 'Mon' and 'Ami' stands for the opposite of each other in French and Bengali........the quirks of language!!