In the beginning there was Madraspatnam. This became Madras under British rule. Since that was not what the locals called it, it became Chennai. Not to be left behind, the citizens of O Calcutta felt that it did not meet the needs of the local tongue so it became Kolkata. Not to be found lagging behind, the Maharastrians could not stand amchi Mumbai being called Bombay or Bombaim so Mumbai it became.
So too our beloved Panjim has undergone changes. Nova Goa, Cidade de Goa or Pangim during the bad ole days became Panjim after liberation. Then somebody felt it should be called the Marathicized Panaji. No true local would ever call the capital city of Goa Panaji - Someone from Maharashtra might. The local Goan, be (s)he a hindu, moslem or cristao would say, "Maca Ponnje vochunc zai" or in a bus when buying a ticket, "Ponnje ek or Ponnje ek half ticket." So why Panaji? I remember once when trying to send a telegram to Panjim from Pune, the telegraph clerk simply refused to accept Panaji but insisted that it should be Panjim. A rose by any other name should smell (or in this case stink) the same. -- Tony de Sa. tonydesa at gmail dot com ╬w╬W╬w╬W╬w╬W╬w╬╬w╬W╬w╬W╬w╬W╬w╬——╬w╬W╬w╬W╬w╬W╬w╬
