Taking names

The bestowing of a name is reason of great significance since it is carried to ones grave unless of course it is waylaid, frittered or render meaningless to ones sense of being. My mother Otilia named me after St. Venantius whose name she came across in a calendar published by the Salesians of Don Bosco, Matunga Mumbai. My father Bernard and she were pleased with the name, not knowing anything more than that Venantius (of Camerino) was a martyr born on May 18. Later I heard of Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus, Latin poet and hymnodist, venerated during the Middle Ages as Saint Venantius Fortunatus. In late 2012 while perusing a dictionary of saints at the Pauline Book Store on 38th Street, I learnt that there were six saints by that name! Venny, was the diminutive coined by my mother, and as a child I was called Vennysan, and not at all intended to mimic the Japanese honorific –san. She knew very, very little English, but apparently her use of the word san was a cognate with the English son, inflected from a sound palette rooted in my mother tongue Konkani/Konknni, in which I would have been addressed as Venny baba (son) or Baba Venantius. Furthermore I was also called Bab/a Venaçio in letters to my mother from family in Goa, in essence living at a meshing of two languages Konkani and Portuguese. A threshold so. 

BABY PIC 

Up until early adulthood, I was addressed as Venny only by family. It was only much later in New York that I realized that Venantius did not seem to sit well with most South Asians, in that they could not be bothered to voice it. One does not endear oneself by deciding to call you by the name that only a few may. Its about taking shortcuts and not meriting that embrace. In fact most of them had more than a decent grip of English, and included assorted graduate students, activists, and of course professors. I believe it was easier for these to get themselves to pronounce Csikszentmihalyi rather than hear themselves say Ve+nan+tius (shius, or tius). Go figure that out. Finding flow is not easy if one does not wish to live it on an ongoing basis! Looking back I now see that there was something terribly lazy about them. So Venny made it to the out groups (haha) and Venantius ensconced from their sorry ambits. What was worse was being addressed in shrill tones as Vinny by those of the same elan. Shudder. I had no intentions of being the Pooh at their march into the Postmodern. 

JJ PICs

During my years at Art School it was Pinto, barring the Christians, and some others. Then there was also Venya, and Venni (braided hair). The latter two were spontaneously assigned names rooted in Marathi phonetics. Reflecting back, if I was a warrior with the Marathas—I can imagine being called so. The former, my surname was just the way one was usually addressed, although not always so as clarified. 

Back in others I believe Venantius was a cheesecake of a name replete with the extra calories. Of course we all travel a long way from the onset of our professional education, its continuation to the points where we do not look askance at Solzhenitsyn. Its about seeking a harmony of hearing, of listening.  

And then there were those who simply aped. If Baida (Egg) calls you Venny, I Vidwaan (Scholar) too can. All fine na? Na? 

ベナﾝシｬス, べなんしゃす:
When I first began to study Shodo, more precisely Shuji my teacher transliterated Venantius into Benansyasu as opposed to say even Venansyasu. It felt strange at first but I accepted being confined within Japanese phonetics although being aware that when Japanese children began excelling at the violin, the earlier bayorin was dropped in favor of violin. The same happened with many other words. There is nothing that prevents the Japanese from saying Venantius or as in cases where words begin in V, or L, or for that matter in Latin if they wish to—with a tiny bit of effort. That effort being a broadening of the consonant palette.

Rinsho chop, VJP image 

修験海: 
Later when my Rinsho studies began I took the opportunity to take on a nom de plume (go) and upon much though settled on ShuGenKai. Sensei was taken aback, perhaps since it had three-characters. She consulted with Nihon Shuji in Tokyo whose response was indeed positive —admirable in fact. So, I got to keep the name, and it was the first time I had not budged. Many particularly in the West have their own sense of respect to their teaches, or guides. I am not exactly a child, an as with natures I have stopped diluting mine.

As time passed — through reading, belief, and practice, I began getting and developing a sense of Shodo, and of Shuji and Tenarai. 

The names added and it was all not so fragmented as it may appear.  

s: ベナﾝシｬス、べなんしゃす, 修験海、静風、辺南、一登 

(Benansyasu, ShuGenKai, SeiFu, BenNan, PinTou)

Benansyasu, ベナﾝシｬス, べなんしゃす: 

My regular name since I began my studies and written in Katakana, and sometimes in Hiragana. 

ShuGenKai, 修験海: The asectics sea. I use this name for Rinsho. 

SeiFu, 静風: Static wind. Imagine a wind which is still/calm, but still a wind. Sensei gave me this name. 

BenNan, 辺南: Ben from Benkyou (Studies), and Nan means South, I use this name for Kana.

PinTou, 一登: Pintou means focus, and is a sound cognate of my surname Pinto. This is my signature for painting, at this point Boku-ga, Sumi-e, and Suisai-ga. 

From a long essay in progress, Taking Names

Caetano Xavier Figueiredo and 
Venançio José Pinto e Figueiredo, Batim Goa 

The bestowing of a name is a reason of great significance since, it is carried to ones grave unless of course it is waylaid, frittered or render meaningless to ones sense of being. My mother Otilia named me after St. Venantius whose name she came across in a calendar published by the Salesians of Don Bosco, Matunga Mumbai. My father Bernard and she were pleased with the name, not knowing anything more than that Venantius (of Camerino) was a martyr born on May 18. Later I heard of Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus, Latin poet and hymnodist, venerated during the Middle Ages as Saint Venantius Fortunatus. In late 2012 while perusing a dictionary of saints at the Pauline Book Store on 38th Street, I learnt that there were six saints by that name! Venny, was the diminutive coined by my mother, and as a child I was called Vennysan, and not at all intended to mimic the Japanese honorific –san. She knew very, very little English, but apparently her use of the word san was a cognate with the English son, inflected from a sound palette rooted in my mother tongue Konkani/Konknni, in which I would have been addressed as Venny baba (son) or Baba Venantius. Furthermore I was also called Bab/a Venaçio in letters to my mother from family in Goa, in essence living at a meshing of two languages Konkani and Portuguese. A threshold so to speak which I hope to explore in the near future. 

Up until early adulthood, I was addressed as Venny only by family. It was only much later in New York that I realized that Venantius did not seem to sit well with many South Asians. in that, they could not be bothered to voice it. One does not endear oneself by deciding to call you by the name just cause you pal does. Maybe you do not know the relationships we have formed. Its about taking shortcuts and not meriting that embrace. In fact most of them had more than a decent grip of English, and included assorted graduate students, activists, and of course professors. I believe it was easier for these to get themselves to pronounce Csikszentmihalyi rather than hear themselves say Ve+nan+tius (shius, or tius). Go figure that out. Finding flow is not easy if one does not wish to live it on an ongoing basis! Looking back I now see that there was something terribly lazy about them. So Venny made it to the out groups (haha) and Venantius ensconced from their sorry ambits. What was worse was being addressed in shrill tones as Vinny by those of the same elan. Shudder. I had no intentions of being the Pooh at their march into the Postmodern.

(This essay will talk about all my other names by way of Shodo, Bokuga, Tenkoku…)

Short clip of 一登 PinTou beginning to carve a chop

A short clip of me carving again after a fourteen month break, aside from putting in a few hours about two months ago. Interesting to watch oneself…I look pretty calm now! Hoping to get back to my regular pace sometime soon. Pray for me please. Btw, my fingers are not broken. :) Thanks.