Remembering Roots

Since the 1500s, the name for the seven islands with the “good bay” was Bombay to the Portuguese, although the local Koli people previously referred to the area as the home of “Mumbaa Aai”, their patron goddess.  Independence did not necessitate an immediate switch to the more traditional name, however; the resurgence of the Shiv Sena did.  The Shiv Sena is a Hindu political party on the right whose leadership disliked the name’s European roots.  In 1995 they returned the city to its ancient Marathi etymology despite fielding criticism that the move would lose the city international recognition.  Regardless of whether or not the change prompted anything socially significant or lasting, Mumbai had finally come full circle.