Few 20 cities that changed
their names
1. Bangalore to
Bengaluru
Long before the invasion
of technology on the city, a war was fought in 890 CE, according to a Western
Ganga dynasty inscription found in Begur. The city was a part of
the Ganga Kingdom until the year 1004 when it was named as
‘Bengaval-uru’, also referred to as the ‘City of Guards’ in Old Kannada. The
name change took place in 2006.
2. Bombay to Mumbai
Some of the oldest names
for the city date back to the 16th and 17th centuries when it was referred to
as Mombayn (1525), Bombaym (1552), Bombain (1552), Bombay (1538), Boon Bay (1690), Bombaim (Portugese 1666) etc.
During the British rule in the 17th century, they changed the Portugese name to
an anglicised Bombay. The financial capital of India, the name Bombay was
changed to Mumbai in 1996. It derives its name from the term Mumba or
Maha-Amba, the patron goddess.
3. Trivandrum to
Thiruvananthapuram
The city was known as
Trivandrum until 1991 when the government decided to change it to its original
name Thiruvananathapuram. It’s pronounced in Malayalam as
‘Thiru-anantha-puram’, which means the city of Lord Ananta. It’s one of the
oldest cities with tradition traditions dating back to 1000 BC.
4. Calcutta to Kolkata
The city ubiquitous for
its ‘adda’ (casual gathering of people engaging in friendly banter), adopted
it’s Bengali name Kolkata officially in 2001. The name is derived from the
Bengali term ‘Kolikata’ which was the name of one of the three villages
predating the British rule in India. The other two villages were Govindapur and
Sutanati.
5. Madras to Chennai
The name Madras predates
the arrival of British in India. It was reportedly derived from the term
‘Madraspattinam’, a fishing village situated north of Fort St George. The name
change took place in 1996. There are, however, several different
interpretations to the term Chennai, with one theory claiming it was named
after the Chenna Kesava Perumal temple.
6. Cochin to Kochi
In the 14th century,
Kochi was an important trading centre dealing in spices. It was also known as
the Queen of the Arabian Sea. The origin of the name Kochi is reportedly derived
from the Malayalam word ‘Kochu azhi’, which means ‘small lagoon’. The
anglicised name gave way to a more traditional Kochi in 1996.
7. Pondicherry to
Puducherry
Lovingly referred to as
‘Pondi’, the pleasantly old-world city of Pondicherry changed to Puducherry in
2006.
8. Waltair to
Vishakhapatnam
Vishakhapatnam’s (Vizag)
history can be traced back to the 6th century BC. It was historically a part of
the Kalinga region and then eventually ruled by the Vengi kingdom, Pallava and
Ganga dynasty. It is the largest city of Andhra Pradesh both in terms of area
and population. It went from being called Waltair during British rule to
Vizagpatnam after independence and later became Vishakhapatnam in 1987.
9. Gauhati to Guwahati
In ancient texts,
Guwahati is referred to as the city of Pragyjyotishpura. The name Guwahati is
derived from the word ‘Guwa’ which means ‘areca nut’ and ‘haat’ (market). The
city changed it anglicised name to Guwahati in 1983.
10. Benaras to Varanasi
Varanasi is
traditionally known as the culture centre of north India for thousands of
years. Known for its various ghats and embankments where ritual cleansing takes
place everyday, the city is also a global pilgrimage center. It derives its
name from two rivers: Varuna and Assi. Benaras became Varanasi effective 1956.
11. Poona to Pune
Pune was closely
associated with the Indian freedom struggle between 1875 and 1910 when it
became the centre of agitation spearheaded by prominent Indian leaders Bal
Gangadhar Tilak and Gopal Krishna Gokhale. The oldest reference of the city can
be found inscribed on a copper plate dating back to 937 BC belonging to
Rashtrakuta Dynasty that refers to the town as ‘Punya Vishaya’. Britishers
named the city Poona, but it was replaced with a more traditional ‘Pune’ in
1978.
12. Trichur to Thrissur
The name Thrissur is the
short from of Thiru-shiva-per-ur, which means ‘The City’ with the name of Lord
Shiva’. It was one of the places where the Indian freedom movement gathered
momentum after a committee was formed in 1919 of the Indian National Congress (INC). First sites of human settlement during the stone age
have also been discovered here. The anglicised Trichur was changed to Thrissur
in 2014.
13. Baroda to Vadodara
According to history,
Vadodara was inhabited by early trade settlers who settled in the region around
812 AD. The province was primarily dominated by Hindu kings who ruled
until 1297. The name Vadodara traces its origins from a term called ‘Vatpatrak’
or banyan tree leaf. The name change from Baroda took place in 1974.
14. Tumkur to Tumakaru
Known as the coconut
city, the name Tumkur is widely believed to have mutated from the term ‘Tumbe
ooru’ (a widely used flower), which was available in abundance in this region.
It’s also one of the cities under PM Modi’s Smart Cities Mission. The
name change took place in 2014.
15. Hubali to Hubbali
Old Hubli, also known as
Rayas Hubli, grew as a commercial centre under the rule of Vijayanagar empire
in 1336 AD. Back then it was famous for cotton, saltpetre and iron trade. In
Kannada, Hubli means a ‘flowering creeper’. The name was changed from Hubli to
Hubbali in 2014.
16. Mysore to Mysuru
Mysore is derived from
the word ‘mahishuru’. The term means ‘Buffalo’ in Sanskrit and ‘Mahishasur’
(demon) in Kannada, who could shape-shift into a buffalo as well as human. The
place is well known for the sweet dish Mysore Pak and silk sarees. According to
Hindu mythology, the area was ruled by Mahishasur until Goddess Chamundeshwari
killed him. The name change came about in 2014.
17. Mangalore to
Mangaluru
Mangalore is known by
four different names in four different languages: Kudla in Tulu, Maikala in
Beary, Mangaluru in Kannada, and Kodial in Canarese Konkani. It is named after
the deity Mangaldevi.
18. Bellary to Ballari
Bellary changed its name
to Ballari in 2014. There are several accounts on the origin of its name. One
legend says when a few worshippers travelling to Ballari couldn’t find a Shiva
Linga to worship, they installed a Balla (measuring cup) upside down as Shiva
Linga and worshipped it. The other legend derives its name from the old Kannada
word Vallari.
19. Craganore to
Kodungallur
Kodungallur, just over
an hour’s drive from Kochi in central Kerala, stands at the very spot where an
ancient port city by the name of Muziris stood, which many say dates back
as early as 3000 BC. Conceived at a cost of Rs 94 crore and situated in
Kodungallur, Kerala’s Muziris Heritage Project is billed as India’s largest
heritage conservation plan. According to common belief, the name is derived
from the term ‘Kodi-linga-puram’ which means the land of 10 million Shiva
Lingas.
20. Simla to Shimla
Shimla was declared the
summer capital of British India in 1864. After India achieved its independence
from the British rule, it was made the capital of Punjab and later became the
capital of Himachal Pradesh. Shimla is named after Goddess Shyamala Devi, which
is thought to be an incarnation of Kali.
