Bangalore changed its name to Bengalooru in what is seen as a bid to appease locals upset at the influx of outsiders.
BENGALOORU: Bangalore changed its name to its vernacular original Bengalooru on Wednesday in what is seen as a bid to appease locals upset at the influx of outsiders. The official announcement was at made by the government, to mark the golden jubilee of Karnataka’s formation.
But the change will take at least a month to become legal, pending approval and a gazette notification by the Centre and perhaps many months before it becomes vogue. But “Bengalooreans” reacted to the change of nomenclature either with total indifference or derision.
According to some historians, Bengalooru is derived from Bendakalooru, meaning boiled sprout. The British had anglicised it as Bangalore which now has been Kannadised to its original. The change was considered logical by Kannada laureates, fully endorsed by the government after Bombay changed to Mumbai, Madras to Chennai and Calcutta to Kolkata in the past.
Though the audience at the formal ceremony applauded the announcement, the city was not agog with the change with most people enjoying their Rajyotsava holiday: The only excitement was visible on TV.
The honchos of the city’s famed IT sector are not losing sleep either over it saying the cosmetic change could in no way affect work. Mohandas Pai, director (human resources) of IT bellwether Infosys, told DNA, “The change will not affect the business or brand or make any difference whatsoever.” But he said he was born and brought up in ‘Bangalore’ and the old name would make him “nostalgic.”
“It will neither affect nor improve the condition of the city astrologically,” according to a renowned astrologer K N Somayaji, adding: “The only change will be in pronunciation.” He called the move “silly behaviour” by the state government.
Tanushree Das, an IT employee, says life in Bangalore can’t simply change just because its name has been changed. “Bangalore was a sensuous name and the city has lost some charm.”
Priyanka Tripathi from MP, an aspiring IT professional, considers the change to be a “hostile signal” for migrants like her. “Lakhs have migrated to Bangalore and I see this as a move to tell us that outsiders are no more welcome. I have lived here only for two years, but consider it my second home.”
Avijeet Chakraverty, a student, is amused. “I wonder how much trouble international IT firms will have to pronounce the name.”
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