Lesson I
So I realized that I have yet to answer the question that was on everyone's mind before I left...why was the city's name changed from Bombay to Mumbai? Well, I did a bit of research online and then checked it out with the guys at work to make sure that it was accurate. Here's what I found out...
In the 16th century, the Portuguese named the area Bom Bahia, meaning "Good Bay." However, after the British gained possession, the name was anglicised to Bombay. Finally, in 1997, due to the fact that the city had long been called Mumbai by two of the local languages, Marathi and Gujarati, Parliament officially changed the name.
This trend (of re-naming cities that had been named by the British) is very common in India. For example, Calcutta is now called Kolkata and Madras is now Chennai.
This re-naming trend also extends to, amongst other things, train stations. For example, the main train station in Mumbai is called Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, but used to be called Victoria Terminus. Try saying that...seriously............exactly. So, whenever I refer to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, I try to take the easy way out and call it Victoria Terminus, thinking that everyone will understand that I can't pronounce it by it's real name and give me a break. Not so. So, now I just call it, "that pretty train station in town." (I've included a picture for reference.)
Back to Mumbai. The name Mumbai is derived from Mumba, the name of the Hindu goddess Mumbadevi, and Aai or "mother" in Marathi. Did you know that Mumbai and it's neighboring suburbs form the fourth most populous metropolitan area after Tokyo, Mexico City, and New York? Who knew.
Finally, here's how you pronounce Mumbai: Start with "mum" as in "mum's the word" and then follow it up with "bai" as in "bye." In terms of where you place the emphasis, they're fairly equal with just a touch more given to the "mum." So, it's not MUMbai, or mumBAI. It's mumbai.
That's it for today kids, make sure you read chapter 10 before class tomorrow and remember to study for our quiz on Monday.
So I realized that I have yet to answer the question that was on everyone's mind before I left...why was the city's name changed from Bombay to Mumbai? Well, I did a bit of research online and then checked it out with the guys at work to make sure that it was accurate. Here's what I found out...
In the 16th century, the Portuguese named the area Bom Bahia, meaning "Good Bay." However, after the British gained possession, the name was anglicised to Bombay. Finally, in 1997, due to the fact that the city had long been called Mumbai by two of the local languages, Marathi and Gujarati, Parliament officially changed the name.
This trend (of re-naming cities that had been named by the British) is very common in India. For example, Calcutta is now called Kolkata and Madras is now Chennai.
This re-naming trend also extends to, amongst other things, train stations. For example, the main train station in Mumbai is called Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, but used to be called Victoria Terminus. Try saying that...seriously............exactly. So, whenever I refer to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, I try to take the easy way out and call it Victoria Terminus, thinking that everyone will understand that I can't pronounce it by it's real name and give me a break. Not so. So, now I just call it, "that pretty train station in town." (I've included a picture for reference.)
Back to Mumbai. The name Mumbai is derived from Mumba, the name of the Hindu goddess Mumbadevi, and Aai or "mother" in Marathi. Did you know that Mumbai and it's neighboring suburbs form the fourth most populous metropolitan area after Tokyo, Mexico City, and New York? Who knew.
Finally, here's how you pronounce Mumbai: Start with "mum" as in "mum's the word" and then follow it up with "bai" as in "bye." In terms of where you place the emphasis, they're fairly equal with just a touch more given to the "mum." So, it's not MUMbai, or mumBAI. It's mumbai.
That's it for today kids, make sure you read chapter 10 before class tomorrow and remember to study for our quiz on Monday.
posted by Steven | 5:51 PM
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