55-year-old Bharti has named his children after prominent political leaders. The eldest son is Mulayam Singh (23) and then there is Kalyan Singh (18), Giani Zail Singh (17), Rajnath Singh (15), Manmohan Singh (9) and Bal Thackeray, who is just five-years-old
Shakespeare’s most commonly quoted dialogue from the play Romeo and Juliet “What’s in a nameIJ A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” that has been doing the rounds since time immemorial, does not hold much significance for Mithai lal Bharti from Jalalpur as he places a lot of importance in the names he gives to his children.
That is the reason why the namesakes of the country’s top political personalities are living under one roof in a hamlet in Akbarpur constituency, in Kanpur’s Dehat district, for 55-year-old Bharti has named his children after prominent political leaders. The eldest son is Mulayam Singh (23), and then there is Kalyan Singh (18), Giani Zail Singh (17), Rajnath Singh (15), Manmohan Singh (9) and Bal Thackeray, who is just five-years-old. Mithai lal also had a daughter named Jayalalithaa, who died a few years ago of a snake bite.
Undeterred by inflation, Mithai lal, an agriculture labourer, wants to have more children so that he can add the names of Arvind Kejriwal, Narendra Modi and Sheila Dikshit to his family tree. Bharti names his children after star politicians as he believes that his children will acquire fame and fortune just like the leaders they have been named after. However, the names don’t necessarily guide the political preference of Bharti’s family. So, Mulayam Singh is determined to vote for the BSP, while Kalyan Singh is rooting for the Samajwadi Party. Both the brothers are set to cast their votes for the first time.
What’s more, Manmohan Singh campaigns for the BJP and Rajnath Singh walks around with the Samajwadi Party flag pinned proudly to his shirt. Bharti, the head of the family, is proud to have named all his children after politicians. “I do not allow them to use my surname Bharti since this identifies their caste. I want them to become famous and this was the easiest way to do so,” he told The Pioneer over the phone.
Bharti’s fixation of naming his children after netas seems to have paid off and fortune is smiling on his family now. Mulayam Singh is working as a compounder at a clinic and is also doing his final year of graduation. Rajnath Singh is working as an apprentice with a local blacksmith. Kalyan Singh and Giani Zail Singh who are in their first year of graduation have part-time jobs.
We are family, say Mulayam, Manmohan & Rajnath!While Kalyan works at a local tent house to contribute to the family income, Zail Singh is learning how to make furniture. “Manmohan Singh is still in Class I, while Bal Thackeray will go to school from next year,” says the proud father smiling at his brood.
Mulayam Singh pipes in and informs The Pioneer that he will continue the family tradition. “I have decided to name my daughter Sonia Gandhi. She was earlier called Raman Singh but I am changing her name now,” he says.Mulayam also confesses that he is a fan of Mayawati and will vote for the BSP, irrespective of the candidate. But his younger brother Kalyan Singh says, “My vote will go to the Samajwadi Party without a doubt.”
Manmohan Singh, along with his younger brother Bal Thackeray, wears saffron coloured T-shirts.Replying to a question, Bharti says that while he may not have earned a fortune by naming his children after politicians, he has, undoubtedly, earned a small share of fame. “The media is crowding us and channels are giving us publicity and showing our photographs. What more do we want. Moreover, we seem to have set an example because one Ashok Yadav, in an adjoining village, has named his three sons Mulayam Yadav, lalu Yadav and Shivpal Yadav,” he says.