Visakhapatnam and its many names!
Visakhapatnam and its many names!
In my childhood, many rail passengers would dwell on this, its funny to those who knew and baffling to first-timers. Those days, even when u spend so much time eating pallis, samosas and such train snacks; drinking teas and coffees; reading fellow traveller’s news paper (yes, the one on paper, do u know it?) to the last line, journeys like Vijayawada to Visakhapatnam would leave so much time to kill. That was a time when there are no mobiles to constantly engage our eyes n ears. There was no Covid-19 to shut out mouths. That was a time when the pace of life was really laid back even in cities, compared to our present life of chaos, fear, indifference, mayhem and exclusivity!
Obviously, in train journeys, people would engage in banter. The first question would usually be “where are you heading?” the other one would reply and promptly returns the question: “…. and you?” names of towns and cities would tumble out. Rajahmundry, Eluru, Anakapalle, etc. For those places with name changes both will pop up: like Bezawada / Vijayawada. But Visakhapatnam? Always in a league of its own, as usual!
Sample conversation in trains bound to Visakhapatnam:
Mr X: Where are you going Sir?
M. Y: Visakhapatnam. And you?
Mr X: We, too! Vizag! All of us.
Mr Y: Oh good.
Ms. Z, standing by side: Hehhehhe. Looks like all are going to Waltair. Gotta stand all the way!
At this, a certain Mr O, a first-timer, may loudly exclaim to his people, after reaching destination in Visakhapatnam: “What the heck with all these names!”
Funny. Without computers and emails, those days letters are only means of communication to masses. P&T landline phones are for rich only. Pen friendship is popular among some people. They would interact with strangers through letters. I did too. Often, my pen friends ask about these multiple names and I would explain.
Once fine afternoon, I was shocked, looking in disbelief at the ‘To’ address on my pen pal’s letter from Hyderabad! It reached destination safe due to Pincode i.e., upto post office and then by my name! But the city name was not Visakhapatnam, not Vizag, not Waltair! But, in apparent confusion, he wrote it as The City of Destiny!
Reason? Being a die hard admirer of my home town, I would often write in the ‘From’ address space just “Mail from the City of Destiny!” with pride. My buddy took it for name, scribbled it in and the letter still got delivered. Well, not even late! The very next day (Thanks to our princess, the Godavari Express! – I shall dwell on the postal miracles of those days, another time).
That moniker: The City of Destiny, given by Sir C. Kattamanchi Ramalinga Reddy is so apt. Our Visakhapatnam or Vizag has proved it be one!
For starters, when the British arrived and figured out the name of this natural marvel of a place on the east coast, it got morphed on their western tongues irrevocably as Vizagapatam (Note the missing ‘N’!).
Easy on toungue, it caught the fancy of our anglophilic Telugu people. They shortened it to Vizag and it stuck.
Waltair, is nothing but related to Waltair area of Visakhapatnam. Back then, the main station of city, ‘Visakhapatnam’ was in 1-town beside the inner harbour. Waltair became main and terminating station in 1970s and Visakhapatnam station became history. Thus, Waltair had become synonymous with Visakhapatnam, for railway passengers till the Waltair station was rechristened as Visakhapatnam station. Still, Waltair is unchanged internally in Indian Railways till today! Now, its history. With its economical, geographic and strategic importance, all the 3 names are widely known across India and beyond!
Adding to that, people gave it many other names. Popular was the sobriquet: The City of Destiny. Another fitting one gained currency last decade was “The Jewel of the East Coast.” “Port City” is the popular pronoun for local English news media! Its also being fondly called with many nicknames: Steel City (Ukku Nagaram), Gamya Nagari (telugu for City of Destiny), Saagara Nagari (Seaside City), Prashantha Nagari (Peaceful City) and so on. Now with governments thriving on PR, its also called AI City, Data City
Further, often Visakhapatnam is referred to in short as just Visakha and there is a demand to make it official. Lets hope it remains a demand!
