Recently, the State government announced its plans
to rename the Prince of Wales museum as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vastusangrahlaya.
So now we have that in addition to the
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus,
the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, the Chhatrapati
Shivaji Domestic Airport,
and who knows what else. If this trend continues,
we may reasonably speculate what
it will be like in 2050AD. ....
My name is Chhatrapati Shivaji. My father's
name is Chhatrapati Shivaji.
All other names have long since been outlawed.
I wake up everyday at 6:30 am
CST (Chhatrapati Standard Time) to go to my
school:
Chhatrapati Shivaji Vidyalaya. It was a little confusing
getting there
at first, because all schools in the city have the same name. But
once I
got directions, it was fine. All I have to do is go down Chhatrapati
Shivaji Road, make a left turn at Chhatrapati Shivaji Chowk, go straight
till
Chhatrapati Shivaji Marg, until I reach Chhatrapati Shivaji School.
Once I got lost and found myself
at Chhatrapati Shivaji Chowk instead of
Chhatrapati Shivaji Road. Silly mistake, when I think about it.
My class teacher, Mr. C. Shivaji, is a good
teacher.
Today he asked, "Chhatrapati, can you answer that
question?"
The whole class stood up to answer. Yesterday our school, C. S. Vidyalaya, had
a cricket match with our rival school, C. S. Vidyalaya. Of course,
we don't
know which school won.
But that's okay. This weekend, my family
and I will
go to the zoo, Chhatrapati Shivaji Pranibaugh, and see all
the,
um... plants. There used to be animals there, but they're all dead now.
They say it was due to "negligence" because the keepers were all
running
for government, one of them for the office of Prime Chhatrapati.
We have
two main telecommunication companies, CSNL and CSNL. One provides
telephone
services and the other provides broadband MultiNet access via the Chhatrapati Shivaji Satellite.
Sometimes we don't know whether we're
accessing a website or whether Chhatrapati Shivaji (our grandmother) is
calling
up. I'll go online later to see if I have any new e-mail at chhatrapati@chhatrapatishivaji.cs
Foreigners are often confused which Paanch Sitaara Vishramgraha (5-ishtar hotel) to
stay in, because they all have the same
names. I think the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vishramgraha is pretty good, and
one should
stay there rather than the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vishramgraha or the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vishramgraha.
During the weekend, my family and I might
go to the beach, the Chhatrapati
Shivaji Samudrakinara, and after that we
may go see a film.
All foreign films are dubbed in Indian languages
because, as we are taught in school:
(1) Nothing foreign is good, and
(2) All things foreign that are good have
been
stolen from us. I go to sleep pretty early, after watching the popular TV
show
Kaun Banega Chhatrapati.
Tomorrow will be another day... I think.
Sometimes, in whispers, I hear stories told of a mythical age long ago,
when
places and things had different names. Stories of a time when
each thing
had it's own name, and of a concept called "heterogeneity". It's a
legend,
only half-believed, of a time when places and things had a history,
and the
city an identity.
Date: 22 November, 450 AC (After Chhatrapati)
Place: Chhatrapati Shivaji Mahanagar
(Formerly
Bombay City)
bravenet.com