Article in the Asian Age, Bombay Edition, of Friday, 16th November 2001
The Bottom Line

"Sena's Great Indian Recipe: Make Goa 'Govapuri'"

Pamela d'Mello, Panaji, November 15
Will Goa go the Mumbai and Kolkata way to become Govapuri or Gomantak?

It is difficult to pronounce what might happen yet, but the Shiv Sena here has repeated an earlier demand that Lusitanised names of villages and towns be dropped in favour of their desi versions.

Taking a cue from nomenclature changes sweeping across India, one of which reincarnated Chennai from Madras, the Shiv Sena wants to similarly obliterate the Iberian flavour of Goan names that has stuck on from 451 years of Portugal's occupation of this west coast region.

But in Goa, conflicting cultural influences could throw more emotive dynamite into the Babel of names in use. Goa' simmering language and script disputes over Konkani and Marathi are likely to influence any name-changing game here. A post-liberation (1961) pro-Marathi regime Marathised erstwhile Portuguese and original Konkani pronunciations to produce hybrids that differing camps virulently dispute. The capital city of Goa, Panaji, thus named after 1961, followed the Portuguese "Pangim" (the m here being silent) which current English usage anglicised to Panjim while the Konkani "Ponjjae" is still used in vernacular conversation.

Now the Shiv Sena has pointed out that the current "Old Goa," home to the World Heritage Cathedral Monuments, "Velha Goa" pre-1961, should be renamed "Brahmapuri" after an ancient Brahma temple there.

Similarly, the Shiv Sena wants the port town of Vasco da Gama, named after the famous 15th century navigator, to bear the name of "Sambhajinagar," Sambhaji being the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji's son.

A swathe of villages and towns in the Old Conquest regions the Portuguese occupied the longest must revert back to their old names, they suggest.

Interestingly, personal family names that changed with Portuguese record keeping are slowly reverting to the original - Camotim to Kamat, Xenvi to Shenoy and Naique to Naik.
Re-Edited by Prakash John Mascarenhas

Sena Demands: Make Goa Govapuri

Will Goa go the Mumbai and Kolkata way to become Govapuri or Gomantak?

It is difficult to pronounce what might happen yet, but the Shiv Sena here has repeated an earlier demand that the Lusitanianised names of villages and towns be dropped in favour of their "indigenous" versions.

Taking a cue from name changes being implemented across India, one of which renamed Madras as Chennai, the Shiv Sena wants to similarly obliterate the Iberian flavour of Goan names that has stuck on from 451 years of Portugal's occupation of this west coast region.

But in Goa, conflicting ethnic demands could throw more emotive dynamite into the Babel of names in use. Goa' simmering language and script disputes over the native Konkani and the immigrants' Marathi are likely to influence any name-changing game here. A post-liberation (1961) pro-Marathi regime Maharasthrianised original Konkani names and their Portuguese versions to produce queer and strange names that the natives virulently repudiate.

The capital city of Goa, Panaji, thus named after 1961, followed the Portuguese "Pangim" (the 'm' here being silent) while the native Konkani Ponje (pronounced as "Ponjjae") is still preferred by the natives. (The English version of the name is Panjim)

Now the Shiv Sena has demanded that Velha Goa (Portuguese for "Old Goa") and home to the Heritage Monuments of the Portuguese era: the "Se Cathedral" and other ancient monuments should be renamed "Brahmapuri" after an ancient Brahma temple there.

Similarly, the Shiv Sena wants the port town of Vasco da Gama, named after the famous 15th century navigator, to be renamed "Sambhajinagar," Sambhaji being the name of Shivaji's son.

The Shiv Sena also demanded that names of villages and towns in the Old Conquest regions the Portuguese occupied the longest must be renamed.

Interestingly, personal family names that changed with Portuguese record keeping are slowly reverting to the original - Camotim to Kamat, Xenvi to Shenvi and Naique to Naik. (PJM: Wasn't Naique originally the Konkani 'Nayak'? How did it become the Marathi 'Naik'?)
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