This is 'K;' not the same!

November 4 , 2006

THIS IS 'K' ... NOT THE SAME!

I stopped at the corner Sunoco gas station/convenient store to pick up some Backwoods smokes. There's a guy ahead of me in line, so my eyes wandered about the place, as they are wont to do. I noticed the cashier's name tag. It read: KASHYAP. I've never seen such a name before, and I so I began to get curious. This often spells trouble for me, but I'm not about to change.

I handed Kashyap my Sunoco credit card. While it was processing, I asked him: "How do you pronounce your name?" He studied me for a few uncomfortable seconds, then said, with a thick Indian accent: "How would you say it?"

Great. So I found myself in the position of either embarrassing myself or offending Kashyap with a butchered pronunciation of his name. Why couldn't he just say it? No, he had to be difficult. So I replied, "You have to give me a clue; are there any silent letters?"

Then he points to the "Kash-" part of the name and says, "How will you say first part?"

Me: Kash.

Kashyap: But cash is SEE. [the letter "C"]

Me: Yeah. (?)

Kashyap: C. A. S. H.

Me:

Kashyap: [pointing at his name tag] THIS IS 'KAY'!

Me:

Kashyap: Not the SAME!

Me:

I drooped my eyelids and made that incredulous and unflinching, blank expression. I imagined someone standing to his right -- an imaginary straight man in this comedy --toward whom I could slightly, but poignantly direct my blank expression. I imagined that person shrugging and subtlely shaking his head in that "see what I have to put up with all day?" sort of way. I looked back at Kashyap.

Kashyap: Sign here please.

I signed for the credit card transaction, said "thank you" and left.

It's probably a good thing that I kept to myself what was really on my mind: That his name tag was a subliminal message to suggest to his customers to "cash yap," or "pay cash." The next time I visit, I may ask Kashyap, using my own phonetic guess on the pronunciation of his name and ask him if he sells ketchup.