Names do Matter!!!

"I'm going to take the 3.39pm local from Andheri and get down at C D Deshmukh station"

Hey wait! What's this C D Deshmukh station? Some new station they carved out? And why this name?

Buddy, didn't you know that Churchgate is being rechristened as C D Deshmukh station.

What? Why? But what's wrong with the name Churchgate? Its been like that for ages. And who's C D Deshmukh?

Exactly! Churchgate has been like that for ages. And the government thinks it smacks of a colonial lineage. And since we are stressing the need for self dependency, thats why it needs to be changed. And don't you know who Chintaman Dwarakanath Deshmukh is? He was the first Indian Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. He later became the Union Finance Minister. In recognition of his meritorious services to the Reserve Bank and the nation and in order to perpetuate his memory, the Reserve Bank of India has instituted an annual lecture series entitled 'Chintaman Deshmukh Memorial Lectures'.

Hasn't RBI done enough to preserve his legacy? Why do we need to rename Churchgate after him? Why not after someone who has worked for the service of the downtrodden? Worked for social upliftment?

You don't understand politics mate! You're quite naive in these matters. Renaming it after a social worker never guarantees you additional votes. And additionally any person who's worked for the poor would have always been on a collision course with the govt for its anti poor policies. Renaming a place after such a person would amount to the govt acknowledging that its policies were wrong.

Hardly matters to me. Churchgate will forever remain 'Churchgate' to me. Come what may. Isn't the name reflective of such a grand history. Memories for countless people. Its an integral part of the city and all what the city stands for. Wouln't foreigners have so much difficulty pronouncing the new name. No its going to be Churchgate for me always.

So it will be for me buddy. Like CST is VT to me even today. Mumbai is Bombay. Kolkatta is Calcutta. Bengaluru is Bangalore. It never changes.