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Does a name make a difference, whether it is
Madras or Chennai, I said.
What's in a name, said William Shakespeare.
You ought to know that having been a literature student, he
mocked.
I knew he was having a dig at me, at the same
time he wanted to claim that he had better knowledge of the
Bard.
Personally, I feel Madras should continue to
be called so for various reasons, I asserted.
Why not Chennai? Actually, you should be glad
that someone thought of reviving the old name, observed he.
Old name with 'new values and culture', what
juxtaposition! I don't know whether to feel happy about this
"coexistence", I said.
Well, what's wrong with the new values and
culture? We should learn to adopt ourselves to the changing
times, simple, don't you think so, he said.
No, I don't think it is as simple as it
sounds. People's attitudes to their fellow human beings seem to
be changing for the worse even faster than western fashions, I
lamented.
Well, we can't help that because people will
change no matter what the city is called, he maintained.
Now you talk sense. Interestingly the
anniversary of the birth of the city is being celebrated as
'Madras Day' despite the change in its name. I am just wondering
if by chance Chennai is called Madras again will it be
celebrated as 'Madras Day' or 'Chennai Day', I said.
Probably the second with 'no values or
culture' to speak of, he quipped.
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