As India elects a new president today to replace Mukherjee, the Poltu story is one that will strike a chord with families across the country. Choices of nicknames tend to vary with people as different factors are taken into account when settling on a nickname,” Chibber told PTI. Her uncle, actor Rishi Kapoor, is called Chintu, and that is an interesting tale too. Many indigenous names, says sociologist Sanjay Srivastava, are often based on a person’s physical or mental attributes - colour and body shape. “We name people after their physical disabilities, which they might not necessarily want to be named after,” Delhi-based Srivastava told PTI.

Source: The Hindu July 17, 2017 06:45 UTC