Amit Chawla DotNet: All and Sundry

I have had to deal with the case of mistaken identity for as far back as I can remember. I am in fact, the John Smith of India. Okay, more the John. For some reason Amit is probably the most common name in India. Especially, among the males born in the seventies.  I disagree that it has something to do with the rise of a certain film actor.

There was a time when you’d shout Amit to a group of boys and four of them would turn towards you. I’ve known about five or six in each year through school and university. It was as tough we were part of a sub-culture. We’d recognise each other from a distance, nod, and then move on. There was also an unspoken protocol: “Always fully-qualify your name”, “Amits are awesome people”, “An Amit always helps another Amit”, “We are all part of a team”. It was a rare example of camaraderie stemming from a name. I just happened to be living it.

All that disappeared when I moved to Sydney years ago. For the first time, I started feeling a bit “on my own”.

A few years later I joined a technology company spread over multiple states within Australia. During my first week at work, as I was trolling through the company address-book I saw something that set me back a little. Lo and Behold, there was another “Amit Chawla” on the list!

In time, through a string of Shakespearean-incidents I came to know a little more about my namesake. I would often get emails with surprising sources and subject lines:

- Meeting at 4:00 at the (xyz)
- Please update your sales target for the month
- Shift swap
- Coffee, now?

In a rare bungle, during a particular pay-cycle, I even received his salary! Well, they paid everybody peanuts. But, that’s another story.

Things hit an all-time-high, when one evening, as I was comforting my six month old son, I received a rather frantic phone call from a strange looking phone number. Here’s how the conversation went (roughly):

The Lady: Hi Amit!
Me [Rather perplexed]: Uh, a, hello.

The Lady: Where are you?
Me [a bit concerned and still perplexed]: um, aa, at home… But… 

The Lady [furious]: Are you still home? And I thought that we were supposed to meet at (Some Melbourne suburb). You stood me up!!!
Me [totally freaked out]: I live in Sydney, NSW. And… Do you work for…

In time it became quite obvious that the man in question was really my namesake and not myself, we both had a good laugh.

The wife however, eavesdropping on the conversation, was still a little suspicious.  No serious damage was made though.

This was a little real-life-story from a few years ago. Enough said about me though. What about you? Are you also Amit?

Filed under: Humor