One of the most extraordinary and touching stories in our family history is how my mother, Heera Devi Yami, the wife of Dharma Ratna Yami, lovingly allowed the names Timila and Hisila to be given to two of her daughters.
The story goes back to my father’s youthful days in Lhasa, when he developed a deep teenage affection for a Tibetan girl. When he met her face to face, he called her Hisila.
But when he wanted to communicate with her secretly through his friend Tashi, he went much further. He made the remarkable effort to learn the Tibetan language—not only to speak it, but also to write it—so that he could send secret letters to her.
And in those letters, he called her Timila.
Think about that for a moment.
The name Hisila was the name he spoke when he stood before her. Timila was the name he wrote to her in secret letters.
And years later, these two names became the names of two daughters of Dharma Ratna and Heera Devi.
What makes this story even more extraordinary is Heera Devi herself. She knew the meaning and emotional history behind these names, yet she happily accepted them for her daughters. There seems to have been no bitterness or jealousy—only an extraordinary generosity of heart and perhaps an understanding of the deep memories that these names carried for her husband.
For me, this is much more than a story about two names.
It is a story about love, memory, trust, forgiveness, and the remarkable emotional strength of a woman who allowed a chapter from her husband’s youth to become part of the identity of her own daughters.
Today, when I see the names Timila and Hisila, I cannot help but think of the extraordinary journey behind them—from Lhasa, to secret Tibetan letters, to our family, and finally into the history of the next generation.
Sometimes, a name is not simply a name.
Sometimes, a name carries an entire story.