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| Maverick School, Malaysia. |
I am amused by how some establishments have probably wrong choices of names. In my mind, their names have negative connotations. Or it was intended to be so. As they say in business, any publicity is good publicity. Anything that would stir the readers' curiosity or turns any head is good for business.
Recently I came across two such instances.
A private school called' Maverick' was set up in the Klang Valley. I always thought a maverick always has something up his sleeves. He has a scheme, a sleight of hand, that would benefit him. I perceive a maverick as someone like Artemus Gordon of 'The Wild Wild West' (1965), a secret service spy with tricks up his sleeves to protect the US President.
Apparently, over the years, the term maverick had evolved from giving a negative connotation to something positive. People are no longer expected to be conforming and obedient but to think outside the box to be innovative. Correspondingly, students should not be rote learners but creative instead. Hence, to be a maverick is legitimately legal.
Traditional wisdom dictates that we are strong by numbers. We are familiar with Aesop's fable about the feuding brothers and their ailing father's attempt at unifying them through the analogy of breaking twigs singly versus a tied bunch.
However, big institutions and conglomerates have earned themselves a bad reputation in modern times. With the ever-widening income gap between the top 1% and the rest of society, they are the favourite subjects of leftists and conspiracy theorists.
A new term often thrown in daily conversations nowadays is the word 'nexus'. That word was intended to denote one's central position in the thick of things, like centrioles in the process of nuclear divisions. Or in the centre of the railway line connections. Also, a nexus of evil is out to destroy civilisation as we know it, etc. Examples of the nexus often mentioned in civil or not-so-civil conversations include The Rothchild Foundation, the Illuminati, the Masons, China, the World Economic Forum and George Soros' Open Society.
Recently I came across two such instances.
A private school called' Maverick' was set up in the Klang Valley. I always thought a maverick always has something up his sleeves. He has a scheme, a sleight of hand, that would benefit him. I perceive a maverick as someone like Artemus Gordon of 'The Wild Wild West' (1965), a secret service spy with tricks up his sleeves to protect the US President.
Apparently, over the years, the term maverick had evolved from giving a negative connotation to something positive. People are no longer expected to be conforming and obedient but to think outside the box to be innovative. Correspondingly, students should not be rote learners but creative instead. Hence, to be a maverick is legitimately legal.
Traditional wisdom dictates that we are strong by numbers. We are familiar with Aesop's fable about the feuding brothers and their ailing father's attempt at unifying them through the analogy of breaking twigs singly versus a tied bunch.
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| Nexus, Bangsar South, Malaysia. |
A new term often thrown in daily conversations nowadays is the word 'nexus'. That word was intended to denote one's central position in the thick of things, like centrioles in the process of nuclear divisions. Or in the centre of the railway line connections. Also, a nexus of evil is out to destroy civilisation as we know it, etc. Examples of the nexus often mentioned in civil or not-so-civil conversations include The Rothchild Foundation, the Illuminati, the Masons, China, the World Economic Forum and George Soros' Open Society.
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| Pran |
To name a multi-million mammoth construction 'Nexus' to hold business dealings and functions and to promote it as the next best thing since sliced bread may appear shady at best. Does it not sound like a big establishment with nefarious intents? Again, any news is good news.
It cannot all be doom and gloom. If not, my father would not have named me after a Tamil movie star synonymous with villainy. If Charles Sobhraj were notorious, would he have called me Sobhraj? But then, there was a time around the world when no child was named Pran, as the name Pran was the epitome of evil as far as the Hindi film world was concerned. He personified what evil meant. His big piercing eyes, grinding teeth and a cloud of cigarette smoke around his silhouette were enough to send shivers down viewers' spines.
Forget the fact the name 'Pran' refers to the Pranava Mantra, which signifies the cosmic sound Om or Aum, the most powerful mantra in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
It cannot all be doom and gloom. If not, my father would not have named me after a Tamil movie star synonymous with villainy. If Charles Sobhraj were notorious, would he have called me Sobhraj? But then, there was a time around the world when no child was named Pran, as the name Pran was the epitome of evil as far as the Hindi film world was concerned. He personified what evil meant. His big piercing eyes, grinding teeth and a cloud of cigarette smoke around his silhouette were enough to send shivers down viewers' spines.
Forget the fact the name 'Pran' refers to the Pranava Mantra, which signifies the cosmic sound Om or Aum, the most powerful mantra in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
