The lesson “What Is My Name?” is a powerful story that explores the importance of names and identity. The story’s protagonist, Sarada, is a housewife who has lost her sense of self. She is so busy taking care of her family and her home that she has forgotten who she is.
What is My Name? Summary
Sarada, before she got married, was a well-educated and cultured young woman. She was intelligent, capable, quick-witted and she had a sense of humour and elegance. She used to stand first in her class. She was good at music and dance. She used to paint good pictures.
Falling to her beauty, and intelligence and attracted by the dowry her father offered, a young man married her. Later he showed his house and told her that it was her house. Immediately she began to swab the floors and decorated the floor with rangoli designs. On seeing this, her husband praised that she was dexterous at swabbing the floor. Overjoyed by his applause, Sarada began living with swabbing as a mission of her life. Thus, her life went on scrubbing the house spotlessly and decorating the house with multi-coloured designs. In her scrubbing zeal she had forgotten her name. One day she tried to recollect what her name was. But she could not. She became restless. She asked her maid servant, her neighbours, her husband, and her children about her name. But they all told the name by which they used to call her by using their relation. Her husband laughed and did not take it seriously.
Finally the housewife decided to go to her parents’ house and look for her name in her certificates. But her certificates were kept on the attic. Meanwhile she met her classmate. She called the housewife by her name ‘Sarada’. At once Sarada felt like a person. Because our name gives us our personal identity and self-respect. Our name is our own- unique to us.
Here the author wants to tell that every woman has her own responsibility in nation-building. Women should be given equal rights with men. Women should not be confined to the four walls of the house. She should be let free. She can reach to the heights of sky. She can ascend to the pinnacles of any success and thus she can make any nation greater and stronger.
Conclusion:
The story “What Is My Name?” is a reminder that our names are more than just words. They are a symbol of our identity, our heritage, and our self-worth. We should never forget our names, and we should cherish them always.