Call it Bangla or Bongo, what's in a name, Didi?
"What's in a name?" the bard had famously said, for a rose will smell the same if called by any other name. We Bongs too can bet that rosogollas will taste the same, whether they came from Bongo or Bengal.
So what's this obsession our politicians have with changing names of cities and states alike?
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee may have been miffed at getting her turn at the end every time she represents West Bengal at inter-state council meetings, but how much can a cosmetic change of name serve a state desperate for an image makeover?
"It's a need of the time to respect the culture, heritage and aspiration of the people of Bengal," said state minister Partha Chatterjee while announcing the Cabinet decision.
For starters, when one cuts the "West" out, it automatically propels the state to the second spot in the English alphabetical list.
So it does address Didi's practical grievance that the state may get a call higher up in the list of states during Central conferences.
Officials and legislators from West Bengal have often complained how they get very less time to speak or are made to wait till the fag end of most meetings as turns are decided according to the alphabetical order.
But there is more to it than just a simple rechristening exercise. One that is considered very close to Mamata's heart.
People close to Didi know very well that she has quite a way with words. Her knack at giving new names to the old and new alike has often caught the imagination of the masses.
From streets to Metro railway stations, water tanks, flyovers and even the new state secretariat building "Nabanna", all have had her distinct personal touch.
Mamata's naming spree began way before she took over as the chief minister. In 2009, she named seven new metro stations as the then Union railway minister. Each one named after some Bengal luminary or the other.
So the popular Tollygunge metro station became "Mahanayak Uttam Kumar" overnight, while others were named after freedom fighters like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Surya Sen, Shahid Khudiram, poets like Subhash Mukhopadhyay, Nazrul Islam and even books like Tagore's Gitanjali.
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| The popular Tollygunge metro station became "Mahanayak Uttam Kumar" overnight. |
Final outcome? Commuters remain baffled about the new names till date and continue using the old ones that identify a station with its existing local area name.
In 2012, residents in adjacent Salt Lake township woke up to a surprise when Mamata declared that she would rename the water tanks in the area.
For decades residents had referred to their water tank numbers as landmarks to help visitors trace their addresses. However, the Trinamool-run Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation thought that the tanks could well be used as tools to pay some more tributes.
Thus, prodded by the chief minister, 16 water tanks in Salt Lake were renamed after famous personalities, including one after "Mahanayak Uttam Kumar" again.
Yes, you heard it right. Kolkata now has two landmarks named after the great Bengali actor. Can it get better than this? We hope not!
In 2014, when Bengali screen icon Suchitra Sen passed away, Didi was quick to dedicate an important south Kolkata road in her memory. Thus the iconic Ballygunge Circular Road was renamed "Suchitra Sen Sarani".
Except, it soon turned out that the road had already been dedicated to the legendary Pramathesh Barua.
But in order to accommodate Didi's wish, the Trinamool-led Kolkata Municipal Corporation made use of an innovative idea - it divided the 2.5 km stretch between the two screen legends. While Suchitra got a lion's share of the road, Barua had to make peace with a 350m portion.
Another Bengali icon recently got a taste of Didi's legendary tribute whims.
For ages, Bishop Lefroy Road remains an iconic address in Kolkata. Home to Satyajit Ray, cinebuffs from across the globe visit the area to pay their homage. Adjacent to it is Lee Road, which has recently been decorated with designer street lamps with posters of some of Ray's most celebrated works.
When Mamata inaugurated the newly renovated stretch earlier this year, she was once again struck with a brilliant idea.
Thus, Lee Road was renamed as Satyajit Ray "Dharani" - another first for the city. While the Bengali term "Sarani", which literally translates to road, is generally used as a suffix for many roads in Kolkata, use of the term "Dharani", meaning earth, has surprised even her ardent admirers.
Then there was the new Parama Island flyover connecting central Kolkata with the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass.
Sanctioned during the Left regime, the project was way behind schedule. To Mamata's credit, she finally got the flyover operational but renamed it "Maa" from Parama, opening the floodgates for a flurry of jokes on social media.
Notwithstanding the ground realities, Mamata has indeed made an honest effort to rebrand Bengal as a business-friendly state during her first term in office.
She conceived the "Biswa Bangla" campaign to aggressively market home-grown products, both in India and abroad. One that has actually yielded good results.
However, her annual business summit titled "Bengal Leads" on the lines of "Vibrant Gujarat" has so far been a dud.
She even got superstar Shah Rukh Khan onboard to promote Bengal as a tourism destination. Unfortunately, even Shah Rukh's midas touch couldn't breathe life into the "Beautiful Bengal" campaign.
With a thumping majority and another term in office, Didi sure has a lot of scope to name and rename bridges, roads, towns and cities.
But the question on everyone's mind - be it Bangla or Bongo - is whether Mamata's Bengal will be able to reclaim its position of glory 60 years after it was born?
After all, may we ask what's in a name, Didi?