I was born in India, but over the last two decades I have lived in six other countries. In the process, my name has undergone some impressive contortions. I’ve been mislabeled Pullover, Pavali, Pavalari, Payawi, Pavalova and Palava, among others. To make things simpler, I have taken to calling myself Polly in English speaking countries, Parabi in Japan and Maria Jose in Spain. Chinese name China was the one country where I didn’t face this particular problem, because from the outset I had a Chinese name, Ai Bei. My students at the Beijing Broadcasting Institute, to whom I taught English back in 2002-2003, chose the name for me.