the city of baked beans
Sandeep Sood - November 05, 2006
It's been 4 days since Bangalore (and a few of her friends) had her name changed. Since "the English names have not yet been finalised", it will either be Bengalaroo or Bengalaru (this is closer to the original name, Benda Kaal Ooru, which literally means, "the city of baked beans").
But with numerology invading Indian media these days, don't be surprised if the offical name ends up being Bennngalllaaarrooooo.
Indian IT firms agree that this is just not a smart move.
"Bangalore represents a cosmopolitan, multicultural brand," said Nandan Nilekani, chief of Infosys Technologies, the outsourcing company, adding: "It is not prudent to abandon the name of India's most global city."
Also, what about the anti-outsourcers? In the past, they could say an outsourced position had been "bangalored"...if you don't know what's being talked about, that sounds pretty bad. Like, you could be walking down a dark alley one day, and BOOM!, you're Bangalored, sucker. Now, these guys will have to try for something like "bengalarood", which no matter how much you snarl your lip, just sounds like something fun.
The reason for the name change? Like Mumbai and Chennai, it is about nationalism. Instead of working on poverty and infrastructure, let's spend a couple million on new street signs and stationary.
"There is not much difference in pronunciation," said homemaker H. Lalita Bai. "Changing the name plates and signs throughout the city will cost heavily to the government and the public." She added that the name change may help "politicians become popular and to erase from the people's minds the blunders that they have committed."
At least with Mumbai and Chennai, the words sounds different enough from their predecessors. In the case of Bengalaru, the name change represents a marginal change in English and practically none in (the local language) Kannada:
The Kannada language media has always written and pronounced "Bangalore" as "Bengaluru." Therefore, if the name change will really materialize, a Kannada language article might say something to the effect that, "There is a proposal to change the name of Bengaluru from Bangalore to Bengaluru," but will actually sound like: "There is a proposal to change the name of Bengaluru from Bangaluru to Bengaluru."
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Posted by Sandeep Sood at November 5, 2006 02:27 AM
Comments
1. Posted by
yogi-one
![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.intentblog.com/nav-commenters.gif)
on
November 5, 2006 04:36 AM
I thought this was a joke until my husband told me that it is true! Bengalaroo makes me giggle! :)
2. Posted by
MallikaChopra
on
November 5, 2006 07:19 AM
There were rumors about changing Delhi's name to Indraprastha as well. It is going to one heck of a tongue twister - I am an Indraprastha-ite!
I hope they find something better to do. One of the failed attempts to change the names was of the famous Chandni Chowk in Delhi after one of the Gandhi family members. It just kills the nostalgic effect and aura of such a historic place.
Changing the name of places is not going to change history. These names are part of India and her history that once she was a colony which effected her culture and traditions (not all for bad really).
haha
4. Posted by
yalv
on
November 5, 2006 08:38 PM
One wonders what will happen when we revert back to all the archiac Indian names then we will start saying something like this - Where are u going ?
I am going to Hastinapur and on my way back I will go to Kurushetra?
It will seen as if we r characters of Mahabharat or some mytholigal conversation is taking place.
Wow that will be gr8..
5. Posted by
ispita
on
November 5, 2006 10:40 PM
Bengalarood made me giggle. a lot.
i think you made the goode point with how much money they spend on stuff like street signs when they are surrounded by all kinds of poverty. Its sad no one is speaking up about that.. (are they? i have no idea. i hope so.)
6. Posted by
Ameya Warde
on
November 6, 2006 03:02 PM
Sandeep Sood: (this is closer to the original name, Benda Kaal Ooru, which literally means, "the city of baked beans").
That was a poor attempt at literal translation to convey the literal meaning. It is clear that you are not familiar with kannada tongue nor did you make a genuine attempt to find the literal meaning, akin to an ignorant western backpacker who gets his knowledge from travel and tourism websites.
My knowledge of Kannada tells me this:
Benda Kaal Ooru literally means, “Boiled Beans Town” or “The Town of Boiled Beans”
You could have said, “Benda Kaal Ooru, crudely translates to "the city of baked beans"
“Legend has it that a king, Vira Ballala, got lost on a hunting expedition. Tired and hungry, he was offered boiled beans by an old woman. Overwhelmed with gratitude, he named the area after the meal she had served him.” Source: BBC NEWS
7. Posted by
InnocentVictim
on
November 6, 2006 04:03 PM
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InnocentVictim commented on the city of baked beans
Sandeep Sood: (this is closer to the ori -
Ameya Warde commented on the city of baked beans
Bengalarood made me giggle. a lot.
i thin -
ispita commented on the city of baked beans
One wonders what will happen when we revert bac
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yalv commented on the city of baked beans
haha
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jasleen commented on the city of baked beans
There were rumors about changing Delhi's name t
If I didn't know better, I'd say it sounds like you've been Shanghai'ed.
Everyone in America knows that the City of Baked Beans is Boston (that's why its nickname is "Bean Town").
There's afamous American song from the WWII era called "I've Got A Girl From Kalamazoo". Kalamazoo is a town in Michigan.
So how about "I've Got A Guru From Bengaluru."
Somebody's been drinking too much of that Mumbai Chai. We'll have to set them straight with some Bombay Bamboo.
We'll send them over to the Big Kahuna in Poona.
But we should stop for a sandwich in New Delhi.
"Make me one with everything, Baba!"
Well, I think we've Chattanooga'd that Choo-Choo.
I should probably quit before I get shot of the Seattle...