By Harish Trivedi
Mumbai Fables by Gyan Prakash reviewed by Anita Vachharajani, DNA Sunday, Oct 17, 2010, 2:02 IST
Review of a Review:
I have read with interest Ms.Anita Vachharajani’s review that appeared in DNA, October 17, 2010. The review is quite informative and interesting. But in the interest of history and accuracy I am presenting some facts and perspective that is missing in that review.
Commenting about the land reclamation the reviewer states, ‘Started in 1784, reclamations had, by 1872, added four million square yards to Bombay. Girangaon (the ‘Village of Mills’), which had sprouted to meet the international demand for cotton. Unhygienic conditions and a particularly heavy monsoon led to the bubonic plague epidemic of 1896-97.
I have not read Mumbai Fables by Gyan Prakash so I do not know if Mr. Gyan Prakash or the reviewer has come up with the etymology of the word Girgaon or Girgaum but the name has nothing to do with cotton or cotton mills as the reviewer states. Girgaum derives its name from the Sanskrit words Giri [Mountain] and Grama [Village]. The late Salim Ali the great ornithologist and naturalist.. has noted that tigers roamed the hill side of Malbar Hills and one such tiger was spotted at the base of the hills near the Girgaum area in early part of the 20th century.
The business in opium was lucrative and popular at that time in history. Even Warren Hastings had indulged in that past-time. But to say that Wadias dabbled in Opium business without any reference to the contributions of the Wadia clan to the city of Mumbai as we know it, is a gross injustice to these revered family name.
The docks at Bombay are a monument of the industry, enterprise and integrity of the Wadia family. The Wadias moved in from Surat to Mumbai at the invitation of the British.
In 1870 the Bombay Port Trust was formed. In 1872, Jamshedji Wadia, a master ship-builder constructed the "Cornwalis", a frigate of 50 guns, for the East India Company, a success which led to several orders from the British Navy. In all the Wadias, between 1735-1863 built 170 war vessels for the Company, 34 man-of-war for the British Navy, 87 merchant vessels for private firms, and three vessels for the Queen of Muscat at Bombay docks.
Miss Vachharjanai states, ‘He (Prof.Gyan Prakash) describes the various blunders around the Backbay reclamation project Khurshed Framji Nariman…’
The reviewer further says, ‘…Nariman took up cause against the mosquito-breeding ‘grand mess’ that the project had become, was sued by the British government, and went on to completely trounce them…’
This is a misrepresentation or mis-reading or only a partial reading of history either by Prof. Gyan Prakash or by Ms. Vaccharajani.
Mr. Nariman came into the public eye in 1926 as an independent and courageous politician for the sensational libel case against him by the British engineer involved in the Backbay Reclamation scandal.
Mr. Nariman first made charges of corruption and mismanagement of the reclamation project in the Bombay Legislative Council (1926). There upon Mr. Thomas Harvey, the engineer in-charge of the project challenged Mr. Nariman to make those libelous statements in public (as statements made in the chambers of the legislature cannot be challenged in the court of law). Mr. Nariman complied by making the same charges in public. Mr. Harvey filed a libel suite against Mr. K. F. Nariman.
Mr Nariman successfully faught the case and WON (July 20, 1926)and also exposed the scandalous financial arrangements in this scheme. He was called Veer or Courageous Nariman. The end of the Marine Drive causeway road was named Nariman Point because of this event.
In 1935 he was elected the Mayor of the Bombay Corporation. As a Mayor he started the Bombay city Citizens Association and was also its first President to take keen interest in slum clearance.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
How do you pronounce Mario Vargas Llosa?
Nobel Prize In Literature - Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa wins 2010 Nobel Prize in literature.
Commenting on the news our friend wrote -
‘Thanks! What an honor!’
‘But I must say this: they keep referring to him as LLosa, which is pronounced Jossa, but that is not his paternal family name, but his maternal family name,
His last name is Vargas Llosa. You could call him just Mario Vargas, but there are SO many Mario Vargas out there that adding the mother's family name helps to differentiate him…’
’Something similar happened to Pablo Ruiz. Do you (know) who he is? Would anyone know him? There are SO many Pablo Ruiz out there!’
’But if you add the mother's family name: Picasso, Then you end up with Pablo Ruiz Picasso. When he moved to Paris, the Parisians found it easiest to refer to him as just Picasso, since that name is very uncommon and it had "artistic flair" -- so now you know "the rest of the story" . . .’
’My full name in Spanish is Enrique Romaguera Martínez Díaz Jiménez - first name -- paternal father’s family name/ maternal father’s family name/ paternal mother’s family name / maternal mother's family name. This way of naming makes it easy to follow family genesis’.
But the web gives this explanation about pronunciation -
Mario Vargas Llosa:
Pronunciation: [mär´yO vär´gäs yO´sä].
And you (our friend) states that Llosa should be pronounced Jossa.
Is there a different pronunciation tradition in the Latin countries and other countries?
And our friend replies -
‘Yes. Different Spanish countries use different pronunciations for the LL. In S panish the double L is considered a seeeparate letter from the simple L.’
’So in a Spanish dictionary you go through all the words with a simple and then you start another dictionary section with words that start with a double LL.’
’The same thing happens in n mid word. You exhaust all the words with simple L and then you start with those with the double LL’.
’In Spain the LL is pronounced like a palatalized L, the simple L is pronounced as a non- palatalized L’.
’In Mexico it is pronounced like a Y, or a Yond’.
’In Argentina It is pronounced as a ZH. Or a palatalized SH
In many Latin American countries, like in Puerto Rico, and Peru, it is pronounced like an English J.’
’Now you have it from the horse's mouth’.
Yes indeed a lesson in various pronunciation traditions
is learned and we won’t look this gift horse in the mouth!
Next question…
Commenting on the news our friend wrote -
‘Thanks! What an honor!’
‘But I must say this: they keep referring to him as LLosa, which is pronounced Jossa, but that is not his paternal family name, but his maternal family name,
His last name is Vargas Llosa. You could call him just Mario Vargas, but there are SO many Mario Vargas out there that adding the mother's family name helps to differentiate him…’
’Something similar happened to Pablo Ruiz. Do you (know) who he is? Would anyone know him? There are SO many Pablo Ruiz out there!’
’But if you add the mother's family name: Picasso, Then you end up with Pablo Ruiz Picasso. When he moved to Paris, the Parisians found it easiest to refer to him as just Picasso, since that name is very uncommon and it had "artistic flair" -- so now you know "the rest of the story" . . .’
’My full name in Spanish is Enrique Romaguera Martínez Díaz Jiménez - first name -- paternal father’s family name/ maternal father’s family name/ paternal mother’s family name / maternal mother's family name. This way of naming makes it easy to follow family genesis’.
But the web gives this explanation about pronunciation -
Mario Vargas Llosa:
Pronunciation: [mär´yO vär´gäs yO´sä].
And you (our friend) states that Llosa should be pronounced Jossa.
Is there a different pronunciation tradition in the Latin countries and other countries?
And our friend replies -
‘Yes. Different Spanish countries use different pronunciations for the LL. In S panish the double L is considered a seeeparate letter from the simple L.’
’So in a Spanish dictionary you go through all the words with a simple and then you start another dictionary section with words that start with a double LL.’
’The same thing happens in n mid word. You exhaust all the words with simple L and then you start with those with the double LL’.
’In Spain the LL is pronounced like a palatalized L, the simple L is pronounced as a non- palatalized L’.
’In Mexico it is pronounced like a Y, or a Yond’.
’In Argentina It is pronounced as a ZH. Or a palatalized SH
In many Latin American countries, like in Puerto Rico, and Peru, it is pronounced like an English J.’
’Now you have it from the horse's mouth’.
Yes indeed a lesson in various pronunciation traditions
is learned and we won’t look this gift horse in the mouth!
Next question…
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