ID :
83022
Sun, 10/04/2009 - 20:27
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/83022
The shortlink copeid
Kazakh girls love to be named after Indira Gandhi
Zafri Mudasser Nofil
Almaty, Oct 4 (PTI) The charismatic late Indira Gandhi's
short half-a-day stay here left such an impact on Kazakhs that
many of them decided to name their daughters after her, with
the trend still continuing.
Charmed by the former prime minister during her visit to
the erstwhile USSR in 1955 with her father Jawaharlal Nehru,
several people named their daughters after Indira.
"The name Indira struck a chord with most of the people.
Every other household decided to christen a newborn girl after
the Indian leader," says 82-year-old Satarhan, a preacher at
the central mosque here, whose granddaughter is named Indira.
"It is not that everyone got to see Indira and Nehru
during their half-day stay in Almaty. Whoever saw the lady was
mesmerised by her looks, her eloquence and her behaviour.
People wanted their daughters and granddaughters to be like
her and started naming them after her," Satarhan told PTI.
"Such was the trend that almost every tenth Kazakh girl
was named Indira," he says.
Indira Ospanova, a receptionist at a four-star hotel here
says, "My grandparents insisted that my name should be
Indira."
According to Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan Ashok
Sajjanhar, even today, young girls and those born in the 80s
and 90s continue to be named Indira.
"This is a demonstration of the deep bonds and linkages
of love and affection among the people of Kazakhstan for
India," Sajjanhar said.
Indira Smagulova works as a flight attendant in Air
Astana, Kazakhstan's national carrier.
"It's great to share a name with one of the world's
greatest women leaders. I have seen Indira Gandhi only in
photographs and is very much impressed by her persona and her
grace," says Smagulova.
Rima Karmysova, a guide and interpreter, however, is more
impressed by Indira Gandhi's son Rajiv.
"In my teens, I had a crush on Rajiv. He was so handsome,"
Karmysova says and adds she will love to name her son after
the former prime minister.
The Nehru-Gandhi family is a well-known in the former
Soviet countries.
In Kazakhstan, there is a Mahatma Gandhi Street, where
there are some residential apartments and a few business
centres. PTI ZMN
JVN
Almaty, Oct 4 (PTI) The charismatic late Indira Gandhi's
short half-a-day stay here left such an impact on Kazakhs that
many of them decided to name their daughters after her, with
the trend still continuing.
Charmed by the former prime minister during her visit to
the erstwhile USSR in 1955 with her father Jawaharlal Nehru,
several people named their daughters after Indira.
"The name Indira struck a chord with most of the people.
Every other household decided to christen a newborn girl after
the Indian leader," says 82-year-old Satarhan, a preacher at
the central mosque here, whose granddaughter is named Indira.
"It is not that everyone got to see Indira and Nehru
during their half-day stay in Almaty. Whoever saw the lady was
mesmerised by her looks, her eloquence and her behaviour.
People wanted their daughters and granddaughters to be like
her and started naming them after her," Satarhan told PTI.
"Such was the trend that almost every tenth Kazakh girl
was named Indira," he says.
Indira Ospanova, a receptionist at a four-star hotel here
says, "My grandparents insisted that my name should be
Indira."
According to Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan Ashok
Sajjanhar, even today, young girls and those born in the 80s
and 90s continue to be named Indira.
"This is a demonstration of the deep bonds and linkages
of love and affection among the people of Kazakhstan for
India," Sajjanhar said.
Indira Smagulova works as a flight attendant in Air
Astana, Kazakhstan's national carrier.
"It's great to share a name with one of the world's
greatest women leaders. I have seen Indira Gandhi only in
photographs and is very much impressed by her persona and her
grace," says Smagulova.
Rima Karmysova, a guide and interpreter, however, is more
impressed by Indira Gandhi's son Rajiv.
"In my teens, I had a crush on Rajiv. He was so handsome,"
Karmysova says and adds she will love to name her son after
the former prime minister.
The Nehru-Gandhi family is a well-known in the former
Soviet countries.
In Kazakhstan, there is a Mahatma Gandhi Street, where
there are some residential apartments and a few business
centres. PTI ZMN
JVN
