Main image via Twitter
Covid-19 has affected millions of people in thousands of ways all over the world but it has especially changed the life of one man in India named Kovid Kapoor… And you can probably already guess why…
Before 2020, the words “Corona” and “Kovid” were just names, but the pandemic changed all that. Thanks to his unique name, Kovid Kapoor has now become an internet sensation.
Despite admitting that he has been made fun of for his name during the pandemic, Kovid shared that he doesn’t feel offended at all —in fact, he finds joy in all this, The Indian Express reports.
When the virus broke, Kovid took to his Twitter to put out a post saying: “My name is Kovid and I’m not a virus.”
The co-founder of Holidify also tweeted sharing that people were highly amused by his name on his first international trip since the pandemic started. Not long after that, his tweet blew up with comments.
He even spoke to The Indian Express about how he took this “as an opportunity to make some light jokes about it” as he wanted to cheer people up during the pandemic.
Running a travelling business during the pandemic has been a not-so-good-experience for Kovid, but he noted that his sense of humor really helped keep him in a better mood.
“We went through a lot of stress to manage our company, and now we’re staring at another wave that’s just getting started. I almost always start my calls with new people with a quick joke about my name!” he said.
Kovid admitted he felt like a “mini celeb” with all the attention he’s been getting. While at it, he grabbed the opportunity to share some of his “memorable” moments, which include #Covid-30 being written on his birthday cake, when Gmail was confused about his name and one time when a waiter pointed out his name to everyone and started laughing.
At times, he even had to use a fake name —Kabir Kapoor.
“It’s a joke that will probably not get old for the rest of my lifetime, so I’ve made my peace with it,” he said, when asked if he is bothered by the jokes.
Despite Kovid’s name being joked about on the internet for its uniqueness, some are curious on the actual meaning of the name.
He explained that the name Kovid actually means “learned or scholar” in Hindi and it had always attracted people since he was little. “It’s an extremely uncommon name—to the point that I’ve met only one other Kovid in life. And yes, we bonded over the joke after the pandemic,” he said.
“I wouldn’t say I got attention but yes I’ve always been complimented on my name—how it sounds and what it means,” he added.
Of course, he admitted that he had no idea how big the pandemic would be or about its long-lasting impact. But he knew for sure that people would somehow pay attention to his name and that he had to keep his humor alive through it.
“I was in Sri Lanka and people were nothing but extremely nice —and they were always pleasantly/mildly amused with the name. But thankfully no negative incident,” he said.
Despite having a name akin to a troubling time, Kovid has brought joy to many during this pandemic with his good nature and sense of humour about the situation. We, for one, are attracted to the uniqueness of his name and the meaning behind it.
What do you think of Kovid’s one-of-a-kind name? Let us know!
Info via The Indian Express