Apparently it runs in my blood to have random questions popping out in my head in the most unpredicted time of the day. It all started this morning at packaging design class, where I was actually working on my web design project. There's something about me and doing a certain project not in its actual class. I always seem to do that. It all depends on my mood which apparently is not always synchronized with my schedule. Staring at my logo, "What does my name actually mean?" suddenly came up in my mind.
Being the typical me, instead of ignoring the question and moving on with the project, I started googling my name. I remembered God knows when I once asked my mother what my name means. She told me "Saras" actually means mentally healthy (waras) in Javanese. Honestly, I thought she was joking (secara waras sangatlah tidak merepresentasikan gw). Yup, she jokes a lot, so I often don't really take her seriously when I really should do.
I found a fair amount of different meanings of "Saras" in different languages. It turns out my mother wasn't joking. One of the meanings, (1) mentally healthy was right. She then told me later (after I asked her again) she gave me that name hoping that I'd be in good health mentally and physically. I don't know about mentally (just kidding), but thanks God I've never been that badly sick where I had to be put in a hospital bed. And I don't wish to. The other one I found was (2) quintessence. It's from sanskrit which is originally a historical Indo-Aryan language. As a matter of fact, it is actually a classic Indian language. Another one I found from the sanskrit is, (3) pond. The Rigvedic term refers to stagnant water. I then got to know about a holy river in India named Sarasvati which is one of the main Rigvedic rivers. "Vati" means to own. So, the word "Sarasvati" signify the meaning of owning something or to have a tendency to keep flowing like water in the river. The Hindi Goddess "Sarasvati" was originally a personification of this river which has the meaning of "the source of life".
My middle name, "Syazwina" means Kasturi (musk). As mention in the holy Quran, it is a substance with which are sealed the pure drinks of Paradise. My mother told me that it has this really good scent. Then I read somewhere that musk is to be the king of all scents. Apparently, it is that good. That makes "smell the scent of Kasturi" on the top of my bucket list. Other than its usage as a fragrance, it is also used in medicine. In that aspect, I was utterly clueless. Kasturi is also used as a detoxofier and is a potent aphrodisiac. O-kay now I'm pretty amazed.
And finally "Salim" - my last name which happens to be my family name simply means, to be safe.
Despite being teased as 'Saras 008' (some Indonesian girl superhero that was really popular back in the late 90s) by most Indonesians ever since I was a little whenever I introduce myself, I personally think Saras is a great name. In all my life, I've never been to a school where a lot of people named Saras can be found. Sarah and Sara are most commonly used. Thus, luckily I was always the only Saras in all the schools I've been to. Yeay to that! And currently in this campus where only 115 Indonesians can be found, I'm the only Saras in this campus. Well, who wouldn't be happy having something that only you have? Even if it's something as simply as a name.
I would like to thank my much loved parents for giving me such a great name.
