PALA--what a beautiful name!
O,be some other name!
What's in a name ?That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would,were he not Romeo called
( Romeo and Juliet,Act 2 scene 2 )
I beg to disagree with Juliet in the matter of name changes.Her
argument may be valid in the case of Romeo,but in the case of
our beloved town Pala, the name is sacrosanct;indeed that name is
the soul of Pala.Try any other name;you are bound to fail in
making any impression at all;eg Palakkad,Kampala,Palampur,Palava
-yal, Palayur etc.The name Pala is pregnant with connotations and
clues about our history, culture, psyche, mindset and so on.There's
no place like Pala and no name sweet as Pala. It's the easiest to
write,pronounce and hear.
THE SAGA OF NAME CHANGES
Since the 1950s name changes have been common in the Third
World due to decolonisation,from India to South Africa.Some
examples are:Ceylon-Sri Lanka,Rhodesia-Zimbabwe,Pretoria-
Tswane,Bombay-Mumbai,Trivandrum-Thiruvananthapuram,Cochin-
Kochi,Madras-Chennai etc.Perhaps, a slight change in Pala's colo-
-nial name Palai,from Palai to Pala, a cosmetic change,was largely
unnoticed.There was a Tamil taste in the colonial name,like
Madurai, Chembai,Kovai,Annasalai etc.With the 'i' at the end,Pala
could be misunderstood as a place somewhere in Tamil Nadu.Now
Pala is back to its glorious,original grandeur,the irrelevant 'i' having
been dropped.
THE DISADVANTAGES OF LONG NAMES
In this age of SMS and Twitter, the long names of people
and places are an encumbrance.For instance,it is difficult to write
Thiruvananthapuram when filling forms.People prefer TVM.The
people are too busy to write long words and names.Pls don't opp-
-ress us with long names.My students use 'u" for 'you' in their
writings. I don't reprimand them for their transgression.Instead,
I appreciate them for their sense of democratic values,'to level
the playing field,to borrow from the cliche of the ANC.Some
students have simplified the 'I' to 'i'."Brevity is the soul of wit"
Long names are clumsy and unwieldy ,especially when we fill
forms.There are some situations when we hate our names,when we
struggle to fill some forms at the eleventh hour to meet the dead
-line.The problem is worsened when we are senior citizens deve-
-loping cataract. In 'Arrivals' at airports,the passengers with short
names fill the disembarkation forms quickly and rush past us and
get through the Immigration,while the less fortunate of us, with
long surnames like Mamalapurayidathil, Ambalapparambil,Anakkam
-poikayil etc are left behind.Imagine the trouble you encounter,if
you are a passenger with a padavanga-like surname,travelling with
your wife and 2 or 3 restless kids with separate passports!
Sometimes,when I fill forms,there aren't enough boxes to accommo-
-date my full name,and the last letter 'l' is left out-'l' for lost,get lost!
But at some other occasions,my long name is a blessing in disguise
coming to my rescue.This is when I'm stopped by a traffic cop.
Srutinising my driving licence,the cop asks,
" Can you pronounce your name?"
" Mamalapurayidathil"
The cop shakes his head.
"It's too long.I can't pronounce it."
We engage in small talk.The cop forgets the reason for stopping
me.
" Go ahead,sir.Sorry for the inconvenience."
I haven't paid any traffic fines for the last 20 years.
SHORT, SHORTER, SHORTEST
In the modern era,names and family size have shrunk simultaneo
-usly,ending in the universally popular 4 letter names.Of course
there are the 3 -word names like Jim,Geo,Abu,Aju,Amy ,Ani etc
but the 4 word name is the mantra of today, running into thousands
and thousands.eg Bino,Binu,Saji,Saju,Revi,Rema etc etc.The name
Pala fits perfectly with modern trends.Pala is one among the few
cities with a 4 word name,ie Rome,Pune, Puri,Kiev,Lasa,Kano etc.
THE ORIGINS AND CONNOTATIONS OF PALA
The following is the summary of my findings from a research
conducted about the origins of the name Pala,and its connotations.
In my study I have used the term Palans to refer to the people of
Pala, as in Germany-Germans, Australia-Australians.
In the true democratic spirit, the opinions of detractors of Pala are
juxtaposed herewith, to reflect transparency and impartiality.They are
indicated as DP (Detractors of Pala )
THE LEGEND OF THE PALA TREE
The name Pala is associated with the Pala tree,which is synony-
-mous with romance,love, Gandharvas and Yekshi.The unique
fragrance of the Pala tree at midnight has an enchanting effect on
young men and women, prompting them for romance.
Thousands of years ago, there was a Gandharva wandering in the
forest near the Meenachil river.The name Meenachil itself is sexy,
originating from Meenakshi.He was on a mission impossible;he
needed some leopard's milk for a Kashayam.His search was fruitless.
Extremely exhausted,he lay down under a Pala tree.After many
hours he woke up, hearing the sound of soft footsteps.He was very
amazed to see a beautiful Yekshi before him, carrying a 'montha'
( a vessel) .The Gandharva asked,
" What's in the montha?"
" Pala" (This is milk )
" What Milk ?"
" Leopard's milk"
What a coincidence! Pal under the Pala tree!
They fell in love,got married and lived happily everafter.
Thus the name Pala became firmly entrenched.
As mentioned before, Pala is associated with milk.Milk is
the sweetest word in any language because all of us started
our first day on earth sucking mothers' milk.Pal is synonymous
with sweetness,love,affection,care,tenderness and purity.So Pala
is a place of all these qualities.Palans love pal.
DP: Of course,Palans love pal, but it's a different type of pal,ie
rubber pal, which is money.In money matters, the Palans are very
tough,like the toughest MRF tyres.
The name Pala is linked to English and Hindi in a positive way.In
English, pal means 'friend' as in penpal.Pala is a friendly place where
all are welcome.
DP: Yes, they are very friendly-to their own people.
In Hindi films sometimes we hear parents complaining
about their children,
" Me ne thuje pala,lekin...." ( I brought you up,but...)
Palans are very caring people, not only for human beings,but
also for cows, as in Gopalan.
DP: In fact they don't care much about cows,but they love
beef.( Irachi olathiyathu)
PALA can be seen as an acronym; People Against Land Abuse.
DP: Nonsense! Palans are the worst as far as caring for the
land is concerned.They are in the forefront of rape of the
land, flattening it to build flats and villas.The monster JCV
is seen moving around uprooting trees and levelling hills.
If you read Pala backwards,it's alap,which means 'sing'
in Hindi.Pala is a place of music and music-lovers.In short,
Pala is a place associated with good things.
DP: All these tall claims are a figment of the author's
imagination.
* * * *
O,be some other name!
What's in a name ?That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would,were he not Romeo called
( Romeo and Juliet,Act 2 scene 2 )
I beg to disagree with Juliet in the matter of name changes.Her
argument may be valid in the case of Romeo,but in the case of
our beloved town Pala, the name is sacrosanct;indeed that name is
the soul of Pala.Try any other name;you are bound to fail in
making any impression at all;eg Palakkad,Kampala,Palampur,Palava
-yal, Palayur etc.The name Pala is pregnant with connotations and
clues about our history, culture, psyche, mindset and so on.There's
no place like Pala and no name sweet as Pala. It's the easiest to
write,pronounce and hear.
THE SAGA OF NAME CHANGES
Since the 1950s name changes have been common in the Third
World due to decolonisation,from India to South Africa.Some
examples are:Ceylon-Sri Lanka,Rhodesia-Zimbabwe,Pretoria-
Tswane,Bombay-Mumbai,Trivandrum-Thiruvananthapuram,Cochin-
Kochi,Madras-Chennai etc.Perhaps, a slight change in Pala's colo-
-nial name Palai,from Palai to Pala, a cosmetic change,was largely
unnoticed.There was a Tamil taste in the colonial name,like
Madurai, Chembai,Kovai,Annasalai etc.With the 'i' at the end,Pala
could be misunderstood as a place somewhere in Tamil Nadu.Now
Pala is back to its glorious,original grandeur,the irrelevant 'i' having
been dropped.
THE DISADVANTAGES OF LONG NAMES
In this age of SMS and Twitter, the long names of people
and places are an encumbrance.For instance,it is difficult to write
Thiruvananthapuram when filling forms.People prefer TVM.The
people are too busy to write long words and names.Pls don't opp-
-ress us with long names.My students use 'u" for 'you' in their
writings. I don't reprimand them for their transgression.Instead,
I appreciate them for their sense of democratic values,'to level
the playing field,to borrow from the cliche of the ANC.Some
students have simplified the 'I' to 'i'."Brevity is the soul of wit"
Long names are clumsy and unwieldy ,especially when we fill
forms.There are some situations when we hate our names,when we
struggle to fill some forms at the eleventh hour to meet the dead
-line.The problem is worsened when we are senior citizens deve-
-loping cataract. In 'Arrivals' at airports,the passengers with short
names fill the disembarkation forms quickly and rush past us and
get through the Immigration,while the less fortunate of us, with
long surnames like Mamalapurayidathil, Ambalapparambil,Anakkam
-poikayil etc are left behind.Imagine the trouble you encounter,if
you are a passenger with a padavanga-like surname,travelling with
your wife and 2 or 3 restless kids with separate passports!
Sometimes,when I fill forms,there aren't enough boxes to accommo-
-date my full name,and the last letter 'l' is left out-'l' for lost,get lost!
But at some other occasions,my long name is a blessing in disguise
coming to my rescue.This is when I'm stopped by a traffic cop.
Srutinising my driving licence,the cop asks,
" Can you pronounce your name?"
" Mamalapurayidathil"
The cop shakes his head.
"It's too long.I can't pronounce it."
We engage in small talk.The cop forgets the reason for stopping
me.
" Go ahead,sir.Sorry for the inconvenience."
I haven't paid any traffic fines for the last 20 years.
SHORT, SHORTER, SHORTEST
In the modern era,names and family size have shrunk simultaneo
-usly,ending in the universally popular 4 letter names.Of course
there are the 3 -word names like Jim,Geo,Abu,Aju,Amy ,Ani etc
but the 4 word name is the mantra of today, running into thousands
and thousands.eg Bino,Binu,Saji,Saju,Revi,Rema etc etc.The name
Pala fits perfectly with modern trends.Pala is one among the few
cities with a 4 word name,ie Rome,Pune, Puri,Kiev,Lasa,Kano etc.
THE ORIGINS AND CONNOTATIONS OF PALA
The following is the summary of my findings from a research
conducted about the origins of the name Pala,and its connotations.
In my study I have used the term Palans to refer to the people of
Pala, as in Germany-Germans, Australia-Australians.
In the true democratic spirit, the opinions of detractors of Pala are
juxtaposed herewith, to reflect transparency and impartiality.They are
indicated as DP (Detractors of Pala )
THE LEGEND OF THE PALA TREE
The name Pala is associated with the Pala tree,which is synony-
-mous with romance,love, Gandharvas and Yekshi.The unique
fragrance of the Pala tree at midnight has an enchanting effect on
young men and women, prompting them for romance.
Thousands of years ago, there was a Gandharva wandering in the
forest near the Meenachil river.The name Meenachil itself is sexy,
originating from Meenakshi.He was on a mission impossible;he
needed some leopard's milk for a Kashayam.His search was fruitless.
Extremely exhausted,he lay down under a Pala tree.After many
hours he woke up, hearing the sound of soft footsteps.He was very
amazed to see a beautiful Yekshi before him, carrying a 'montha'
( a vessel) .The Gandharva asked,
" What's in the montha?"
" Pala" (This is milk )
" What Milk ?"
" Leopard's milk"
What a coincidence! Pal under the Pala tree!
They fell in love,got married and lived happily everafter.
Thus the name Pala became firmly entrenched.
As mentioned before, Pala is associated with milk.Milk is
the sweetest word in any language because all of us started
our first day on earth sucking mothers' milk.Pal is synonymous
with sweetness,love,affection,care,tenderness and purity.So Pala
is a place of all these qualities.Palans love pal.
DP: Of course,Palans love pal, but it's a different type of pal,ie
rubber pal, which is money.In money matters, the Palans are very
tough,like the toughest MRF tyres.
The name Pala is linked to English and Hindi in a positive way.In
English, pal means 'friend' as in penpal.Pala is a friendly place where
all are welcome.
DP: Yes, they are very friendly-to their own people.
In Hindi films sometimes we hear parents complaining
about their children,
" Me ne thuje pala,lekin...." ( I brought you up,but...)
Palans are very caring people, not only for human beings,but
also for cows, as in Gopalan.
DP: In fact they don't care much about cows,but they love
beef.( Irachi olathiyathu)
PALA can be seen as an acronym; People Against Land Abuse.
DP: Nonsense! Palans are the worst as far as caring for the
land is concerned.They are in the forefront of rape of the
land, flattening it to build flats and villas.The monster JCV
is seen moving around uprooting trees and levelling hills.
If you read Pala backwards,it's alap,which means 'sing'
in Hindi.Pala is a place of music and music-lovers.In short,
Pala is a place associated with good things.
DP: All these tall claims are a figment of the author's
imagination.
* * * *
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