December 5, 2009

December 5, 2009

More Memorable by the Name Seveenty Fiive Graand?

By VIKAS BAJAJ MUMBAI, India — Sanjay B. Jumaani has your number — and for a fee he will offer you an upgrade. Mr. Jumaani is one of this bustling city’s most famous numerologists. He studies dates of birth and other numbers associated with his clients — who include Bollywood stars, famed cricket players and corporations — and then suggests changes to names, wardrobe or jewelry that can improve their fortunes. After seeking help from him and other numerologists, actors have added or dropped letters from their names — the actor Ajay Devgan recently became Ajay Devgn. Filmmakers have deliberately misspelled the titles of their movies — “Singgh is Kinng” was a recent hit. And companies have redesigned brands and logos. Sajivv Trehaan, who heads the tour company the Travel Corporation (India), said Mr. Jumaani’s counsel has been a key to many of his business successes. “The world has changed for me,” Mr. Trehaan said about the time seven years ago when Mr. Jumaani suggested he change his name from Sajiv Trehan. “We were a small company at the time. Now we have seven offices overseas. And I live in Switzerland.” In addition to the rich and famous, many average Indians also consult Mr. Jumaani and his competitors — of which there are many. The advice these new-age counselors offer is not cheap. Mr. Jumaani charges individual clients 40,200 rupees, which is about $9 or roughly one month’s pay for

household servants. Businesses pay a lot more. Mr. Jumaani won’t say how much. Critics say that numerology and its offshoots are expensive distractions that lure people in with promises of a brighter future. “This practice caters to people’s craving to know, modify or improve their future,” said Prabir Ghosh, an author who has debated astrologers and numerologists on Indian television. Mr. Ghosh, who is the general secretary of the Science and Rationalists’ Association of India, has said his group will pay numerologists, astrologers and other spiritual guides two billion rupee ($43,000) if they prove that their practices work as advertised. He has made no payments so far. Proponents of numerology counter that it, like religion, should require no proof because it’s based on faith. “If you have the faith, you believe in it,” said Vipul Amrutlal Shah, the producer of “Singh is Kinng.” “We in the cinema are gamblers. We don’t know whether our gambles will pay off. It makes us a little superstitious.” According to Mr. Jumaani, people’s personalities and destinies are shaped by the interplay of various numbers. Among the most important are numbers derived from birth dates, like the sum of the digits that make up the day of birth. Babies born on the 28th day of a month, for example, are said to have a good life ahead of them because 2 and 8 add up to 10, and 1 plus 0 equals 1. One, three, five and six are considered auspicious numbers: Mr. Jumaani points out that Bill Gates was born on Oct. 28, 1955. Numbers correspond to the sun, the moon or a planet; one is the sun, two is the moon, three is Jupiter and so on. But people who are not born on a fortunate date need not despair. “We cannot give you Mr. Ambani’s date of birth,” he said referring to the Indian industrialist Mukesh Ambani, whose birthday adds up to one. “But we can help you with your name.” Mr. Jumaani, 41, learned numerology from his father, Bansil M. Jumani, and says it helped him escape a dead-end 17-year career as a liquor distributor. He credits his success to his father’s suggestion that he start using his middle initial. The elder Mr. Jumani died in 2006.

Mr. Jumaani works with his sister, Swetta Jumaaani. His wife, Jhernna S. Jumaanii, sells gems and jewelry to his clients. Her brand is named Gemz Bonnd’z Jewelz. Some who have changed their names said that their lives remain, well, unchanged. Shobhaa Dée, an author and columnist, added an extra “a” to her first name after the elder Mr. Jumani suggested she do so, in a letter, sent to her after she mocked an actor who had changed his name. “I took it as a challenge, and added the ‘a,’ ” she said in an e-mail message. “My signature looked a whole lot better. I stuck to it. But I still haven’t seen the money.”