My name is Akshaya Natarajan. Before it was ever Akshaya, it was ?????????????????? (or ??????????????????, if you happen to be Muthuvel Karunanidhi), written in a language that was spoken over a thousand years before the inception of English. Like the holy Akshayapatra in the Mahabharata, a vessel with a neverending supply of food gifted to Draupadi and the Pandavas, my name has proved to be everlasting across the vast history of India through its many rich languages.
“Awk-SHY-yah,” however, is relatively new.
If you aren’t a family member, or otherwise someone that’s familiar with an Indian language, there’s a good chance you’re pronouncing my name wrong. And that’s totally fine — I mean, I was the one that told you to do that.