Why am I Chenthil and not Senthil

Karthik Subramanian, the journo blogger from The Hindu has linked me in his blogroll as His Name sounds like Senthil. So I thought I would explain the reason in this vain post, skip this if you have anything better to do.

My Dad was working in Tuticorin when I was born, and the deity in the nearby Tiruchendur was called Chenthilandavar. So when my dad decided to name me after the deity, he gave the same spelling. But it was not always the same. I did my schooling in five schools across Tamilnadu, in three of them I was Chenthil and in two I was Senthil. Finally during my board exams, my class teacher gave me an option of S or Ch, and I went with Ch. After that I am Chenthil.

The difference in pronunciation is like calling Chennai as Sennai. In college I was called Chen by my friends. People who heard my name as Chen before meeting me were invariably stunned, as their mental image of Chen didn't match with the physical reality that's me :-).

In my current job where I sell potatoes to Europeans, my first name is abused as Chinthil, Chanthil and once a vietnamese sounding Chen Thilna Than. So I introduce myself to my clients now as Nathan, with just two syllables which are easy on anybodys tongue. Clear Karthik?