Quite a number of my good friends have asked me about the “WongWorld’ mystery. For those who are unaware about this, let me tell them that it is the ‘brand name’ that some of my columns on philosophical, political and economic issues carry by way of ‘courtesy’! To make it simple and understandable, Wong stands for Wang, a part of my full name, Wangchuk.  In other words, WongWorld is a shortened form of “The World of Wangchuk’, with the letter ‘a’ in Wang changed into ‘o’ for a better sound and greater acceptability!
Most friends call me Wang, and I am comfortable and happy with it. It was way back in the 1980s when I was in my ‘junior years’ as a journalist, at Hindustan Times, New Delhi. We had a perfect gentleman, K L Kapoor, who was then a Chief Sub-Editor. It was he who started calling me ‘Wang’ instead of Wangchuk. It was his love and confidence in me that he thought of ‘changing’ my name. No wonder, everybody started calling me ‘Wang’ soon after.

One might like to repeat: What is there in a name...? The Bard of Avon did have a definite reason and purpose when he said so. But, for us, the fact is that a ‘partial name change’ has changed the very picture and course of life! This ‘change’ proved quite lucky in the sense that it got me several awards. My online writings under the WongWorld ‘brand name’ started soon after I was free from the shackles of the Hindustan Times. Once off to freedom and in a ‘liberated’ world, I gave myself an open, wide space with no strings of an employer. That did, if I may say so, wonders for my writings too, without any fear or mental blocks.

So, let me exercise my freedom to say that ‘WongWorld’ has become my lucky ‘live-in partner’ in the long, tortuous journey of life! And I have nothing but to thank my good luck!

Courtesy: WongWorld   
The writer is a New Delhi-based Editor-at-large, columnist and professional speaker.