Big Name but Small Reality – नाम बड़े और दर्शन छोटे (March 2021)

For the past several weeks, hype has been building for a particular movie: jazzy ads are also running on tv and internet. With every passing day, you are becoming curious and excited about the release. You have made the plans with your family and friends – and booked the tickets. The day arrives and you reach the theatre. The movie starts, but before the 10 minutes pass, you start to feel that the movie is nowhere close to what you expected. That feeling grows stronger with every passing minute. The proverb of this month’s assignment नाम बड़े और दर्शन छोटे aptly summarizes your reaction in a few words. It means reality turned out to be opposite and miniscule as compared to the hype, or Big Name but Small Reality.

To understand this proverb, let’s analyze this proverb in different contexts, at least three:

First, let’s start with the situations where this proverb applies in literal sense. When there is an obvious – and often laughable – contrast in the name and the situation, you can use this proverb to explain that difference. For instance, this proverb can be used when you meet a person named Gyan Chand who cannot does not know simple addition and subtraction, or Sher Singh who is afraid of insects and bugs. Similarly, think of a place named Jal Mahal in a desert where there has not been a single drop of rain in the last 10 years or a nursery named Sweet Garden where all they sell is bitter and hot chillies.

Second, let’s think of the situations where a physical phenomenon falls way short of the hype or your expectations. Here, this proverb is used in a figurative manner to describe the situation. The example of the movie used in the introduction of this article falls in this category. You can think of a highly hyped restaurant not meeting your taste expectations. There can be numerous such examples – including severals you have come across.

Last but not least is the figurative context in which human nature is at play. Here, a person pretends and portrays a false image. Mostly, it is done to swindle others. This context is the most important from the kid’s assignment perspective. I will request the kids to spend the most time contemplating upon this one context. While the first two contexts present situations where you feel disappointed, this one brings the feeling of being cheated, duped, and exploited. You feel your trust was breached. While disappointments may be forgotten over time, the feeling of trust violation stays with you for a very long period, if not forever.

We must remember that pretense cannot continue for long. Sooner or later, one’s reality is revealed. One must be extremely careful when trying to fool others. This habit generally starts at a very young age. Kids casually start to lie to create a false image. It starts with the need to appear cool or get accepted by a particular group of kids. This situation does not stay in this condition for long. The liar either gets caught or, worse, becomes better at it by creating an even bigger web of lies. In either case, they ultimately lose trust and true companionship. Despite easy successes and cheap excitement, they end up in a state of guilt-ridden and remorseful life once their true identity comes out. So, however enticing the outcome may look, we must be extremely careful when thinking of projecting a larger and bigger image than reality.

In this month’s assignment, the hawan kids will talk about the meaning of this month’s proverb and explain it in at least three contexts: literal sense, figurative usage in common situations, and figurative meaning in human character. Finally, the kids will reflect on the lesson they derive from this proverb and its role in their life. I will also encourage the kids to use real-life examples to make the point.

Regards,
Harsh Mendiratta🙏