Personal Side
Gafaae ...with- or without- cream and sugar
Gafaae (Coffee): my father gave me this nickname after his first glance at me. I used to be so embarrassed by it. Why shouldn't I be? After all, my skin is a wee bit darker than fair; and, combined with my thick, dark, jet black hair and big black eyes, it was enough to make me feel insulted by my own name!
My mother, though, seemed to understand , and soon enough 'Gafaae' got shortened to 'Faae.' I was much more happy with that. Of course, whenever my mother addressed me as 'Gafaae' I knew that I was in real trouble.
Growing up with parents whose business had a lot to do with Westerners, I soon came to accept that my name would vary based on the native tongue of the person who called upon me. To the British and the Australians I was 'Faye', 'Fayea'- this, I still can't quite imitate. Then one day, I met the Americans (my parents' line of business didn't involve Americans until the early '80's: before that, it was pretty much Australians and Europeans). Suddenly, Gafaae became 'Fair.,' Huh? How did the 'r' show up in my name? And when I moved to a school in Pennsylvania, the emphasis on the nickname 'Faae' was very heavy on the 'ur' at the end 'Fair(ruur)' I couldn't get anybody to call me by my first name 'Pradichaya' Pra-di-cha (soft sh)-ya, and it was even harder to try to teach them to say Gafaae or just Faae. At that point, I would take anything without an 'ur', but it never happened. From then on, I became just a mere 'Fair'.
Years passed, and I started to audition for singing programs. I remember my very first audition well: After the introduction, I was asked if I had other name that was 'easier' than my real name. I automatically replied, “Yes, you can call me Fair” The response I got was “oh, really? I hope your singing is better than 'fair'” From that day on, and after much time had passed, every time I heard “Fair,” I asked myself, “Is this the best I can do? Just 'fair'? NO!!!” I suddenly had an urge to call myself 'Excellent', the 'Greatest', even the 'Best of All', but for humility's sake, I decided that I'd do my best to stick with my name – Gafaae. And, for the first time in my life, I actually like its meaning and how it represents me.