I wasn’t always a Meghna. When I was a messy, crying, toothless baby, I was a Meghana with an extra ‘a.’ Then my teeth grew in, my eyes stopped watering, I became tidier, and the second ‘a’ was dropped.
Meghan, there’s a typo on this sheet, I think you spelled your name wrong. I used to like my name, before I became Typo Girl. I don’t know of anyone who has ever spelled his or her name wrong. But it’s right, I’m Meghna. Not Meghan, or Meggy, or Meg.
The story goes that one day, I had had enough. For the billionth time, my teacher Mrs. Edgar called me Meghan, come here! I turned around and told her If you call me Meghan, I will call you Ed. I didn’t have to hear my “other name” for a long time after that.
In Hindi, my name means rain clouds. It means lightening, and thunder. I never liked the meaning of it. My sister Priya, her name means 'dear', my friend Anushri means ‘pretty’. But instead, I was the scary clouds, the thunder louder than drums, pounding, beating, screaming. But my mother tells me They’re the clouds that spill onto the earth, give water to plants, help the flower bloom.
Meghna might not mean ‘dear,’ or it may look like a typo, but Meghna is who I am. I’m not Meghana, Meghan, or Meggy. Meghna is me.