A lot of debate has been sparked off by the article written about the right name to call ourselves. It would almost seem like an identity crises. As a people we are beginning to feel threatened of our very own existence and are not too sure anymore of what is the right terminology to live by.
As we glance back a few years one can remember a point in time when Lady Hydari Park was renamed Phan Nonglait Park. Two thoughts that came to my mind were, first of all, why confuse the locals , public , tourists and not to be left out the tourist taxi drivers. I, for one simply call it The Park because it’s still the only park in the midst of the city where our little ones can run around . Secondly if a leader wanted to contribute to society, then why did he not make a Phan Nonglait Park . We the people of Shillong do need more lungs for the city and more spaces for our children to play without the fear of being run over.
The renaming of Lady Hydari Park was during a period in time when Madras was changed to Chennai , Calcutta to Kolkata and Bombay to Mumbai. These were gimmicks done by men who lead , to infuse in the minds of the oh so bothered public, that by renaming a place they have , created and contributed to the greater good of society. A reading of, ‘ Lawley Road’, by R.K . Narayan will further entertain, amuse and enlighten many .
I, whose ancestral village is from Nongsawlia is greatly disturbed that Sohra is called Cherrapunji. But since I do not have the reins of power to pressurize within my grasp , have had to rack my brains to keep my cool. But this rather persistent thought, doesn’t go away so easily. It sits in the corner of my brain insatiate. Pops its ugly head from time to time to question my identity. Like all thoughts, it goes through the process of metamorphosis and then an epiphany lights up my mind and calms my being .
If anyone has visited Rome they will not be too surprised that its actual name is Roma. All its signs and directions are loudly and clearly referred to as Roma. While the beautiful city of Florence is in actuality called Firenze. But these things don’t seem to bother the Italians. In fact they use it as a means to differentiate a local from a foreigner or a tourist . So if a person in conversation refers to Roma as Rome and Firenze as Florence he or she is definitely not a native.
To a philologist who likes to dabble in etymology from time to time, a visit to Barcelona was even more shocking. The whole place and its people is actually called Catalan . In the restaurants they refer to their food not as Spanish but vehemently as Catalan cuisine, and are very proud of it. Interestingly it is also the home of FCB (Football Club of Barcelona). From the results of the Euro Cup final and the last World Cup one can see, that it did not matter that they are considered by the whole world as Spainiards and not Catalunyas. For when it came to playing the game, it did not bother them, under what flag they played , as long as they gave their best and won.
A parting shot to this whole conundrum of name-calling is that, it doesn’t really matter what the whole world calls us and our land, as long as we know who we are. (The writer teaches English at Lady Keane College, Shillong)