What’s in a Name?

I don’t agree with Shakespeare on giving no importance to nomenclature. Philosophically, Shakespeare’s stand is understandable but in practice, it creates a lot of trouble at times. I don't know about you but for me, it shatters all reference points.

Have you ever visited a city after a long gap and found it difficult to find your way due to new names cropping up all the time?

I live in a small city. So, many times people have to go to nearby metro cities for some occasional work that cannot be carried out in my city. So I know and recognize many places in large cities from my past visits.

But for some time, changing the names of cities, roads and localities has become a political agenda in my country. Once I visited Bombay but couldn’t return back from it to this date. You know why? By the time I returned, it was called Mumbai!

Some months back, I happened to visit Mumbai. I was staying at a friend’s place in Oshiwara. One day, I wanted to go to the nearest local train station to take a train for somewhere. So I asked my friend, “Which one would be closer, Goregaon or Jogeshwari?” He thought for a moment and told me to ask the driver to take to Ram Mandir. I was puzzled. I repeated that I want to go to a train station and not a temple. He explained me that Ram Mandir is a name of the train station. I was still sceptical but told the driver as he had instructed. He dropped me to a small station with the name Ram Mandir:

The station appeared very newly built up with hardly any passenger on the platform. I checked the info and came to know that this station was built a year back between Goregaon & Jogeshwari. This station was added to the Western suburban railway of Mumbai after several decades. On Central Line, a station named Kopar was added in 2007.

But it’s not just about new additions which embarrasses me. By just changing the names of existing places, people like me can get lost in big cities like Mumbai. So we need to be more aware of new local developments in the city we are visiting to.

The naming of the new station as Ram Mandir based on a 200 year old temple in the vicinity has created several waves for renaming of many other sub-urban stations in Mumbai. Political leaders are demanding a name based on worshipping place nearby several renowned stations.

They want Elphinstone Road to be called as Prabhadevi, Marine Lines railway station to be renamed as Mumbadevi, Dadar railway station be named as Chaityabhoomi and Grant Road as Gamdevi.

All railway station appears to be taking a name of some religious temple, so that people will always say they are going to some temple while doing their daily commute! Now this will confuse me even over phone ...without paying a visit to the city myself. If my atheist friend calls me telling names of temples he had visited that day, wouldn't I be confused?

• If you wake up one morning to a new name for all prominent public places of your city, displaying a new signboard, would you still think you are in the same city?