Calcutta has become 'Kolkata' for a long time, it has been almost 10 years now. Though Calcutta left its place on the map, the name occupies a special place in the heart of every Calcuttan. Though cynics might quote certain lines from Shakespeare- " What's in a name?", the name still reminds us of the rich history of the city. Somewhere, one feels, the name Kolkata has not mixed well with the grandeur of a certain 'Calcutta'.
Speaking of names, one often wonders how the name 'Calcutta' came into being. A local legend tells of a story of a gora sahib asking a village maiden about the name of the place. The maiden, not very well versed in english language we may guess, replied " kal katta (cut yesterday)!", thinking that the Englishman was asking about her newly cut grass! Now this legend is quite old, perhaps older than the city itself and it was probably, like most legends, created for amusement purposes only.
Now, the missionaries had a even more bizarre take on the name- the name is likened to Golgotha, the place of the skulls where Jesus was buried. This origination of this legend can be credited to the fact that Calcutta, in older times, was a breeding ground for diseases, larger in number than the population at that time. These diseases were often deadly,( the Park Street Cemetery can validate this fact).
Another possible line of origination is that the place was famous for the production of shell lime. Kali meant lime and kata meant burnt shell in the local Bengali dialect that existed at that time. The name might have also originated from the world kalkila, which literally meant 'flat ground'.
An authority on Bengal, Jogendranath Bhattacharya, suggested that the name might have a bengali origin, the world kol, literally meaning lap, also referred to the alluvial indention formed by the current of the river Ganges. These places served as harbours since time immemorial. Whenever the river took a new course, the kol now became abandoned or kata- hence the name kolkata. From a geographic viewpoint this hypothesis might hold some ground.
The most widely accepted theory about the origin of the name is that it gets itself from the famous shrine of goddess Kali, Kalighat. Koli being an altered form of Kali, Kata on the other hand, is an altered form of the word kshetra, meaning place. Kolikata can thus be translated into ' the place of goddess Kali'.
Whatever be the origin, the name will always be with us. To every Kolkatan, this is probably the first name of a city we have uttered, the first city we have known. Even if we desperately try to immigrate to Bangalore or the US, chasing our dreams we should not forget that this is where our dreams originated, this is where they were nurtured.
Speaking of names, one often wonders how the name 'Calcutta' came into being. A local legend tells of a story of a gora sahib asking a village maiden about the name of the place. The maiden, not very well versed in english language we may guess, replied " kal katta (cut yesterday)!", thinking that the Englishman was asking about her newly cut grass! Now this legend is quite old, perhaps older than the city itself and it was probably, like most legends, created for amusement purposes only.
Now, the missionaries had a even more bizarre take on the name- the name is likened to Golgotha, the place of the skulls where Jesus was buried. This origination of this legend can be credited to the fact that Calcutta, in older times, was a breeding ground for diseases, larger in number than the population at that time. These diseases were often deadly,( the Park Street Cemetery can validate this fact).
Another possible line of origination is that the place was famous for the production of shell lime. Kali meant lime and kata meant burnt shell in the local Bengali dialect that existed at that time. The name might have also originated from the world kalkila, which literally meant 'flat ground'.
An authority on Bengal, Jogendranath Bhattacharya, suggested that the name might have a bengali origin, the world kol, literally meaning lap, also referred to the alluvial indention formed by the current of the river Ganges. These places served as harbours since time immemorial. Whenever the river took a new course, the kol now became abandoned or kata- hence the name kolkata. From a geographic viewpoint this hypothesis might hold some ground.
The most widely accepted theory about the origin of the name is that it gets itself from the famous shrine of goddess Kali, Kalighat. Koli being an altered form of Kali, Kata on the other hand, is an altered form of the word kshetra, meaning place. Kolikata can thus be translated into ' the place of goddess Kali'.
Whatever be the origin, the name will always be with us. To every Kolkatan, this is probably the first name of a city we have uttered, the first city we have known. Even if we desperately try to immigrate to Bangalore or the US, chasing our dreams we should not forget that this is where our dreams originated, this is where they were nurtured.
