India : Politics In The Name of Names

MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA – INDIA             AUGUST 24 , 2011             11  . 15  A. M.

Last week there was news that all the parties of West Bengal unanimously decided to change the name of the state to Paschim Banga .Very soon West Bengal will be known as Paschim Banga. Mamta Banerjee promised to go for a new nomenclature , when she came to power . It goes to her credit that she fulfilled her promise very soon and all the parties of the state agreed and supported the new name . Very soon Paschim Banga will be a reality. But it is not the first time that a state is being renamed. 5 provinces , 2 Union territories  and 70 cities have already been renamed and a proposal to change Orissa’s name is pending before the Parliament.

Political Map of India

Let us go through the list of Provinces :

1 – Travancore – Cochin is now known as Kerala . [ Name Changed in 1956 ]

2 – Madhya Bharat is now known as Madhya Pradesh . [ Name Changed in 1959]

3 – Madras is now known as Tamil Nadu . [ Name Changed in 1969 ]

4 – Mysore is now known as Karnataka . [ Name Changed in 1973 ]

5 – Uttaranchal is now known as Uttarakhand . [ Name Changed in 2007 ]

There are  proposals for the name change of the 4 Provinces  :

1 – Orissa  - New Name  Odisha . [ Proposed in 2011 ]

2 – West Bengal - New Name  Paschim Banga . [ Proposed in 2011 ]

3 – Kerala , which got its name changed from Travancore – Cochin , wants now to be known as Keralam . [ Still a Wish ]

4 – Assam – New Name  Asom . [ Still a Wish ]

List of Union Territories, which were renamed  :

1 – Laccadivi, Minikoy & Amindivi Islands   -  New Name Lakshadweep . [ Name Changed in 1973 ]

2 – Pondicherry – New Name Puducherry . [  Name Changed in 2006 ]

Map of India showing location of West Bengal

So 5 states and 2 Union Territories of India have been renamed . Two states have concrete proposals for the name change and proposals for Kerala  and Assam, are still in nascent stages.

Apart from above mentioned 9 provinces , and 2 Union Territories  there are 70  Indian cities , which have gone through the name change.

Major cities that have been renamed after independence include:

Andhra Pradesh

• Elgandal to Karimnagar
• Indur to Nizamabad
• Metuku to Medak
• Paalamuru to Mahaboonagar
• Ellore to Eluru (change effective 1949)
• Waltair to Vizagapatam
• Vizagapatam to Vishakapatnam
• Bezawada to Vijayawada
• Cuddapah to kadapa
• Ongole Dist. to Prakasham
• Nellore Dist. to Pottisriramulu Nellore

Assam

• Nowgong to Nagaon
• Gauhati to Guwahati (change effective 1983)
• Sibsagar to Sivasagar

Gujarat

• Baroda to Vadodara (change effective 1974)
• Cambay to Khambhat
• Bulsar to Valsad

Himachal Pradesh

• Simla to Shimla

Kerala

• Trivandrum to Thiruvananthapuram (change effective from 1991)
• Cochin to Kochi (change effective from 1996)
• Calicut to Kozhikode
• Quilon to Kollam
• Trichur to Thrissur
• Cannanore to Kannur
• Palghat to Palakkad
• Alleppey to Alappuzha (change effective from 1990)
• Alwaye to Aluva
• Parur to North Paravur
• Cranganore to Kodungallur
• Tellicherry to Thalassery
• Badagara to Vatakara
• Palai to Pala
• Verapoly to Varapuzha
• Cherpalchery to Cherpulasseri

Madhya Pradesh

• Ahilyanagari/Indur to Indore
• Avantika to Ujjain
• Bhelsa to Vidisha
• Rassen to Raisen
• Saugor to Sagar
• Jubbulpore to Jabalpur
• Bhopal Bairagarh to Sant Hirda Ram Nagar, Bhopal
• Bellasgate to Bheraghat
• Ojjain to Ujjaini
• Mandu to Mandavgarh

Maharashtra

• Poona to Pune
• Kirkee to Khadki
• Thana to Thane
• Bombay to Mumbai (change effective 1995)
• New Bombay to Navi Mumbai (change effective 1995)
• Bassein to Vasai

Puducherry

• Pondicherry to Puducherry (change effective from 1 October 2006)
• Yanaon to Yanam (change effective from merger with Indian Union)

Punjab

• Jullunder to Jalandhar

Tamil Nadu

• Coimbatore to Koyamutthoor (change effective 1972)
• Tinnevelly to Tirunelveli
• Tranquebar to Tharangambadi
• Trichinopoly to Tiruchirapalli (change effective 1971)
• Madras to Chennai (change effective August 1996)
• Tanjore to Thanjavur
• Tuticorin to Thoothukudi
• Cape Comorin to Kanyakumari
• Ootacamund to Udagamandalam
• Conjeevaram to Kanchipuram
• Virudupatti to Virudhunagar
• Potonovo to Parangipettai
• Mayavaram to Mayiladuthurai

Uttar Pradesh

• Cawnpore to Kanpur (change effective 1948)
• Benares to Varanasi (change effective 1956)

West Bengal

• Calcutta to Kolkata (change effective from 1 January 2001)
• Burdwan to Bardhaman

Name change proposal for 9 other Indian cities are there but they allude consensus . They are :

1 – Ahmedabad  - Proposed Name  – Karnavati

2 – Allahabad – Prposed Name  – Prayag or Teerth Raj Prayag

3 – Aurangabad  - Proposed Name  – Sambhajinagar

4 – Patna  - Proposed Name -  Pataliputra

5 – Mysore  - Proposed Name -  Mysooru

6 – Mangalore  – Proposed Name -  Mangaluru

7 – Bangalore – Proposed Name – Bengaluru

8 – Bhopal  - Proposed Name -  Bhojpal

9 – Hyderabad  - Proposed Name -  Bhagya Nagaram

Above mentioned 9 cities have long pending demands for name change , but since it requires Union Cabinet and Parliament’s approval , and at present they are controlled by the Congress , so chances are bleak for the renaming because there is no consensus for the new names of the above mentioned cities.

I fail to understand the logic. If names of 5 states , 2 Union Territories and 70 cities could be changed and 2 more states are on the verge of being renamed , then why to deny above mentioned 9 cities the same right ? Is it because  proposal for the name change for these 9 cities came from BJP or Shiv Sena or other opposition parties ? Or because proposed names of these 9 cities bear the ethos of our age – old tradition and ageless culture ? Or because they are being opposed by some so – called secular parties and intellectuals of left leaning ? Or fear of vote bank politics is stalling the renaming ?

If it is so , it is sad , very , very sad !!

VIDUR

MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA – INDIA

www.vidur.co.in

www.vidurfilms.com

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[ I have taken some materials , data and dates for this blog from Wikipedia . I express my gratitude . ]

Related articles

• Paschim Banga ? Isn’t it same as West Bengal? (invitationsbyfrescoes.wordpress.com)
• Wisecracks greet renamed Indian state of Bongo (theglobeandmail.com)
• West Bengal Renamed (amitgunjan.wordpress.com)
• Paschimbanga – the new name of West Bengal (kish.in)
• Bengali links – Pashchimbanga, Shamsur Rahman, Ramapada Chowdhary and Tareq Masud (tangleofwires.wordpress.com)

New Startling Facts About Maharashtra !!

MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA – INDIA             AUGUST 05 , 2011          05 . 00 P. M.

Did we know..

Once the country’s premier state ~ Maharashtra is fast slipping into a vicious debt trap, according to latest report of Comptroller and Auditor General for the year ended 31 March 2010. Financially the state is in utter mess on account of indiscipline and mismanagement.

What alarms the CAG is mounting debts over years had not deter the state to stay away from profligacy. Words like “injudicious” occur often in the report. To cite how worse the state’s finances are, the CAG says just to clear 19 per cent of its mounting debts and service charges on it, Maharashtra would be raising more funds and debts until March 2017 as the state’s commitments on repayments of debts and loans will be Rs.14,764 crore between 2013-15 and further Rs 15,086 crore in 2015-17.

The CAG has severely criticized financial indiscipline and wasteful expenditures by the state year after year. The report makes separate mention of how erstwhile chief minister Mr Ashok Chavan heaped largesse on the Nanded district central cooperative bank violating Reserve Bank of India‘s guidelines and strong indictment by NABARD (National bank of agriculture and development) in its special inspection report. Nanded is Mr Chavan’s home district. The bank with negative net worth was given Rs 118.50 crore by then CM. The funds had gone down the drain.

[ This article , written by Mr. Avinash Mishra on August 04 , 2011 , is reproduced here verbatim . I express my profound gratitude . ]

VIDUR

MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA – INDIA

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Vidur’s Film Diary – July 2011

MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA – INDIA                   AUGUST 01 , 2011                05.30 P. M.

This is the 27th edition of my Film Diary.

First six months of 2011 are over and it was fairly successful. Second half started with a bang with a path-breaking film ” Delhi Belly “ . ” Ready “ and ” Singham “ continued the dream run at the box office. Please go through the twitter handles of  eminent trade analysts Mr. Taran Adarsh and Mr. Komal Nahta for better understanding of the trade picture.

taran_adarsh taran adarsh

B.O. update: ‘Delhi Belly’ opens very well, ‘Bbuddah H.T.B.’ starts slow bit.ly/aQZHc9

taran_adarsh taran adarsh

‘Bbuddah HTB’: Weekend 1 business stands at Rs 7.06 cr nett. Breakup:- Fri 1.91 cr, Sat 2.45 cr, Sun 2.70 cr.

taran_adarsh taran adarsh

 ’Delhi Belly’: Weekend 1 numbers [Rs 26.15 cr nett] are amongst the highest. Breakup:- Fri 7.15 cr, Sat 8.25 cr, Sun 10.75 cr.

taran_adarsh taran adarsh

 Opening wknd of Aamir Khan‘s last 3 films. ‘Taare ZP’ 15 cr. ‘Peepli L’ 16 cr. ‘Dhobi G’ 10.05 cr. Expecting ‘Delhi Belly’ to be 22 cr +.

taran_adarshtaran adarsh

Bbuddah HTB’: Picked up over the weekend and remained steady on the lower side on weekdays. Collected approx Rs 11.55 cr nett in Week 1.

taran_adarshtaran adarsh

Top 3 openers of 2011 *so far*: 1. Ready. 2. Delhi Belly. 3. Double Dhamaal.

taran_adarshtaran adarsh

B.O. update: ‘Murder 2′ starts very well, ‘Chillar Party’ depends on word of mouth bit.ly/aQZHc9

taran_adarshtaran adarsh

‘Murder 2′: Stiff competition at plexes from ‘DelhiB’. Yet, M2 should fetch impressive numbers over wknd since reports are extremely +ve

taran_adarshtaran adars

 Friday: ‘Murder 2′ is phenomenal at single screens, ranks second best after ‘Ready’. At plexes, has limited shows, doing good to very good.

taran_adarsh taran adarsh

 Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara‘ Week 1: Fri 8 cr, Sat 9.25 cr, Sun 11 cr, Mon 5 cr, Tue 4.5 cr, Wed 4 cr, Thu 3.65 cr. Total: Rs 45.4 cr nett.

taran_adarsh taran adarsh

 B.O. update: #Singham roars, greeted with ceetees, taalis, standing ovation bit.ly/CjxWd

taran_adarshtaran adarsh

 Singham’ Mon 6.10 cr, Tue 5.52 cr, Wed 4.95 cr. Total 47.42 cr nett. Superb.

taran_adarshtaran adarsh

‘Singham’ Tue 5.40 cr. Total 42.47 cr nett. Fabulous. Should easily cross Rs 50 cr mark in Week 1 itself.

taran_adarshtaran adarsh

Top 10 * Opening Weeks * – 1) Dabangg 81 cr, 2) 3 Idiots 80 cr, 3) Ready 68 cr, 4) Ghajini 64 cr [8 days], 5) Golmaal-3 62 cr … contd.

taran_adarshtaran adarsh

 Top 10 * Opening Weeks * – 6) Raajneeti 52 cr, 7) Singham 51.25 cr, 8) MNIK 47.5 cr, 9) Housefull 47 cr, 10) Tees Maar Khan 46 cr.

KomalNahta Komal Nahta

 Weekend BO: Delhi Belly – Rs. 23.25 cr & Bbuddah… – Rs. 6.65 cr (all-India nett). More: bit.ly/ivvf7X

KomalNahtaKomal Nahta

MURDER 2 has taken a flying start and will, therefore, get profits for everyone. Review: http://bit.ly/n5J3cF

KomalNahtaKomal Nahta

Chillar Party will not be able to do much at the ticket windows. Review: http://bit.ly/rjqqRl

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Obituary :

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Daan Singh :

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A talented music composer Daan Singh died last month. But the news came late and I was not aware of his death , so could not write about him last month in my June Diary.

Daan Singh passed away on June 18 , 2011 in Jaipur after a long illness. He was 78 at the time of his death.

He gave music for many films but only three films got released. ” Toofan ” [ 1969 ] , ” My Love ” [ 1970 ] and ” Bawandar ” [ 2001 ] . Among these three films ” My Love ” [ 1970 ] is his most famous film. This Shashi Kapoor and Sharmila Kapoor starrer has some beautiful melodies written by Anand Bakshi , which are still remembered by the connoisseurs of film music. Two songs of Mukesh ; Zikr hota hai hai jab qayamat ka , tere jalvon ki baat hoti hai………. and Woh tere pyar ka gham………….. and one of Mohammad Rafi ‘s ; O my love panchi wango………… are still famous . Dara Singh starrer stunt film ,  ” Toofan ” [ 1968 ] also had some melodies. Zindagi men aaya toofan………………  sung by Mohammad Rafi is still famous and I am unable to forget this song even though I watched the film years ago .

His yet to be released film ” Bhool Na Jaana “ [ 1973 ] fortunately got its music released. Mukesh gems like ;  Gham – E – Dil kisse kahoon …………….. Pukaro mujhe naam lekar pukaro [ Lyrics Gulzaar ]……………… and Gora gora mukhada [ Lyrics Gulzaar ] are still famous. Geeta Dutt’s Mere hamnasheen Mere hamnawa …………… is available on YouTube and is favourite of music lovers.Incidentaly this film had a child artiste called Tutu Sharma , who is now known as Pradeep Sharma , a producer and is married to Padmini Kolhapure. Producer of ” Bhool Na Jaana “ Jagan Sharma was incidentally Tutu Sharma’s father.

It is sad that a talented music director like Daan Singh left this world unwept , unheard and unsung.

Mani Kaul :

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An Avant-Garde film-maker , and an alumni of Film & Television Institute of India , Mani Kaul , died of cancer in his Delhi residence on July 06 , 2011. He was 66 at the time of his death.

He made films like ; ” Uski Roti ” [ 1969 ] , ” Ashadh Ka Ek Din ” [ 1971 ] , ” Duvidha ” [ 1973 ] , ” Ghashiram Kotwal ” [ 1979 ] , ” Satah Se Uthata Admi ” [ 1980 ] , ” Nazar ” [ 1989 ] , ” Idiot ” [ 1992 ] , ” The Cloud Door ” [ 1995 ] , ” Naukar Ki Kameez ” [ 1999 ] and  ” Bojh ” [ 2000 ] . In between he also made documentaries like ; ” Dhrupad ” [ 1982 ] , ” Mati Manas ” [ 1989 ] and ” Siddheshwari ” [ 1989 ] . Incidentally , Shah Rukh Khan was the star of ” Idiot “ , a fact , strangely , he never acknowledged. Mani Kaul’s ” Duvidha ” was also remade by Shah Rukh Khan as ” Paheli ” .

Filmfare  instituted a new award known as Critics Award for Best Film and ” Uski Roti “ was the first recipient of this award. His most notable work was his documentary ” Siddheshwari ” , which won the National Award for Best Documentary film in 1989.

Mani Kaul , apart from being a path-breaking film-maker and writer , was also a teacher of cinema and used to teach cinema in colleges of  U. S. A. and Netherlands. He was a trained Dhrupad singer and a versatile painter. He also acted in Basu Chatterjee’s ” Saara Akash ” .

I don’t know whether it is proper to tell or not but in 1972 when I came to  Mumbai to struggle in films , I once went to his apartment to ask for work . I got rebuked and was told by his wife in very insulting and terse tone not to come ever again without proper appointment.I had gone to many places , met many legendary people and asked for work but never got rebuked or insulted. I was a huge fan of Mani Kaul’s work so this behaviour came as a shock.

Rasika Joshi :

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A prolific stage , film and television actor Rasika Joshi died of cancer on July 07 , 2011 in Mumbai.She was only 39 at the time of her death.

Basically a Marathi stage and film actor Rasika Joshi was seen in few Hindi films and serials also. Ram Gopal Varma’s ” Ghayab “  , ” Darna Zaroori Hai ” , ” Vaastu Shastra ” , ” Ek Haseena Thi “ and Priyadarshan’s ” Malamaal Weekly ” and ” Bhool Bhulaiyaa “ were her some memorable films. She also worked in Shah Rukh Khan’s ” Billu “ and Ekta Kapoor’s serial ” Bandini “ . Ram Gopal Varma’s soon to be released ” It’s Not A Love Story “ is her last Hindi film.

Bhagwan Das Garga :

———————————-

Renowned film historian and documentary film maker Bhagwan Das Garga, died on 18th July , 2011 in Patiala. He was country’s most renowned film historian.

He was assistant to legendary film maker V. Shantaram. Afterwards he made his first documentary ” Storm Over Kashmir “ in 1948. In total he wrote , produced and directed more than 50 documentaries. He was also a member of Government of India’s film advisory board. He earlier worked at the Mosfilm Studios in Moscow.

He wrote a book ” From Raj To Swaraj : The Non-Fiction Film In India “ in 2007. This book won the National Award for the Best Book on Cinema. He wrote two more books ; ” The Art of Cinema : An Insiders Journey Through Fifty Years Of Film History “ and the last one ” Indian Cinema : A Passage To Bollywood ” .

Sunil Rege :

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A popular Hindi and Marathi actor Sunil Rege died on July 27th , 2011 at the age of 63 in Pune.

His films are : ” Aashiqui ” , ” Aks “  ,  ” Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyo  ” , ” Devdas ” and ” Shikhar ” .

Serials , he worked in , are : ” Tara  ” , ” Darar “  , “  Kurukshetra ” , ” Raahat ” , ” Andaz ” and ” Saath Saath ” .

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New Hindi Releases & Me :

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First Week  – July 01

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1 – Delhi Belly……………………………………………….Imran Khan

………………………………………………………………….Shenaz Treasuryvala

………………………………………………………………….Anusha Dandekar

2 – Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap……………………………Sonu Sood

………………………………………………………………….Shekhar [ Vishal-Shekhar ]

Second Week – July 08

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1 – Murder 2…………………………………………………Emraan Hashmi

………………………………………………………………….Jacqueline Fernandez

………………………………………………………………….Sudhanshu Pandey

………………………………………………………………….Yana Gupta

2 – Chillar Party…………………………………………….Ranbir Kapoor

Third Week – July 15

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1 – Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara…………………………….Hritik Roshan

…………………………………………………………………..Katrina Kaif

…………………………………………………………………..Nandinii Sen

2 – Pyar Mein Aisa Bhi…………………………………….x

Fourth Week – July 22

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1 – Singham……………………………………………………Sudhanshu Pandey

……………………………………………………………………Harry Josh

Fifth Week – July 29

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1 – Khap………………………………………………………..Ashok Kumar Beniwal

2 – Bubble Gum………………………………………………x

3 – Gandhi To Hitler…………………………………………x

In total…………. 10 ……….films got released this month. Out of these ……………………. 10 ……….films , my ………………. 16  ……………. students appeared in …… 07  ……. films. Out of these…….. 16 ……………. students ………………… 15 …………… are actors and ………… 01  …………….. Shekhar  [ Vishal - Shaekhar ] is the music director .

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New Regional Films & Me :

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1 – Bengali : PriyangshuChatterjee is essaying an important role in ” Iti Mrinalini ” .

2 – Bhojpuri : Swati Varma is playing an important role in ” Dushmani ” .

3 – Telugu :  Allu Arjun and Anushka Shetty got Best Actor Male and Female Filmfare Award respectively for ” Vedam “ .

Daisy Shah is doing main lead in ” Bhadra “ .

Ram Charan Teja starrer ” Magadheera “ completes 2 years [ 730 weeks ] uninterrupted run in Hyderabad.

Out of various regional films , my students were there in  ……….. 03 ……….. regional languages. In total …………….. 03 …………….. actors trained by me are working in these films.

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T. V. Trivia & Me :

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1 – Lisa Ray is anchoring a show , ” Oh My Gold ! “ on TLC .

2 – Sonali Bendre Behl is judgeing the show ” India’s Got Talent , Season – 3 “ again on Colours T.V. She was a judge in Season – 2 also.

Out of many serials running on various channels …………. 02 …………. shows have ………………….02  ……………… students of mine essaying anchor’s  roles . Both the serials are reality shows.

VIDUR

MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA – INDIA

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