Ben: মালদা māladā ‘Wealthy (city)’ [Maldah, Maldaha, English Bazar, Angrezabad] City/District, West Bengal From Urd: māl-dār, ‘wealthy’. Malda is a port on the Mahananda and Kalindi rivers and has been a trading centre for mango, mulberry, jute, silk, wheat, rice,...
…is the noni or Indian mulberry [Morinda tinctoria/citrifolia], an evergreen shrub. Its root bark is used for dyeing fabric in various shades of red, chocolate and purple. From Hin: आल aal ‘Al or aal: it is used in giving a permanent red colour to the...
Mal: ആറ്റിങ്ങൽ ā(tt)ṟṟiṅ(g)al ‘Attingal Queens’ Town, Kerala Marumakkathayam is a royal and high caste system of matrilineal descent where title and inheritance follows the female bloodline, although the eldest son is still head of the family. Princess...
Mal: അയ്മനം aymanaṁ ‘Five Forests’ Village, Kerala From Mal: ai(y)m ‘five’ (in word compounds)’; and vanam ‘forest’, ‘jungle’ Aymanam is like a small village with classic backwater scenery: coconut trees, paddy...
Kan: ಬೆಳಗಾವಿ beḷagāvi ‘Bamboo Village’ City/District, Karnataka (Kar) Belgaum, Venugrama. From Skt/Kan: veṇu, ‘bamboo’; and grāma/gāv(i/e/a), ‘village’. The city’s original name was Venugrama (Belgaum and Belagavi are variations on this). It was founded in the...
(Confluence of the) Chandra and Bhaga Rivers’ [Asikni, Chandrabhaga] Himachal Pradesh (Him), Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) The Chenab River flows through Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and into Punjab, Pakistan. Asiniki, its original name, probably...
चिखलदरा cikhaladarā ‘Mud Canyon’ Hill Station, Maharashtra (Mah) Mar: cikhala, ‘mud’; and darā ‘gorge’, ‘canyon’ This 1,200m hill station is famous for its tigers and coffee plantations. The 407m Chikhaldara Skywalk...
Sin: හක්ගල hakgala ‘Conch or Jaw Rock’ CP, Sri Lanka From Sin: hak, ‘conch shell’ or hakka, ‘jaw’. This 2,169m mountain is the eight tallest in Sri Lanka. Its multi-peaked profile suggests a conch shell but possibly a jaw as well. Legend also tells us that this is a...
Sin:හක්මණ – Tam:ஹக்மண hakmaṇa ‘Conch or Jaw Path’ SP, Sri Lanka From Sin: hak, ‘conch shell’ or hakka, ‘jaw’; and Sin: man, ‘road, way, path’. This may be connected with shell processing and transport, or with the shape of the road junction, or with the...
Ben: হাওড়া hāōṛā ‘Swampy Lake’ City/District, West Bengal From Ben: haōṛa, ‘lake’, ‘fen’, ‘swamp’, ‘marsh’. A haora is a freshwater wetland, floodplain, lake or swamp. Howrah City and District sit opposite Kolkata are on the western bank...
Mal: ഇടുക്കി iṭukki ‘Gorge’ District, Kerala From Mal: iṭukku/iḍukkụ, ‘narrow passage’, ‘gorge’ Idukki is a mountainous and densely forested region set in the Cardamom Hills. It spreads over an area of 4,358 km2 , making it the second largest district in Kerala. It...
Mal: കടുത്തുരുത്തി kaṭutturutti ‘Sea Island’ Town, Kerala From Mal: kaṭal/kaḍal, ‘sea’; and turutti, island Kaduthuruthy used to be on the coast (i.e. the complex pattern of seawater lagoons and backwaters that make up the coastline here): a 14thC...
Tam: கல்குடா kalkuṭā – Sin: කල්කුඪා kalkuḍhā ‘Rock Bay’ EP, Sri Lanka From Tam: kal, ‘stone, rock, boulder’; and kuta/kuda ‘bay, gulf, shore’. Elephant Rock Beach sits at the northern tip of the Kalkudah peninsula....
Mal: കാസർഗോഡ് kāsargōḍ ‘Backwater Lake’ [Kanhirakode] Town/District, Kerala From Mal: kāñjiram, ‘strychnine tree’, ‘snake wood tree’, ‘poison nut’ [Strychnos nux vomica]; and kāṭu, ‘wilderness’, ‘wood’ This derivation assumes that Kasaragoda is a simple corruption...
Sin: කතරගම kataragama – Tam: கதிர்காமம் katirkāmam ‘Desert Village’ UP, Sri Lanka From Sin: katara, ‘desert’; and gama, ‘village’. Kataragama is an important pilgrimage town, sacred to Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims alike. The Kataragama temple has a shrine...
Sin: කෑගල්ල kǣgalla – Tam: கேகாலை kēkālai ‘Stone or Cave Dwelling ’ WP, Sri Lanka From Sin: keta/ket/ke/ge, ‘dwelling, house, abode’; and gala, ‘stone, rock, rocky place’. Kegalle has a few dozen ancient rock caves, now protected archaeological monuments with...
Ben: কলকাতা kalakātā ‘Kali Area/Ghat’ [Calcutta,Kalikata, Kalkata] City.Capital, West Bengal Kolkata, one of the four original Indian ‘metros’, is now only the seventh largest city in India. It is the capital West Bengal and was the capital of British India...
Kan: ಕುದುರೆಮುಖ kuduremukha ‘Horse Face’ Mountain Range/Peak, Karnataka From Kan: kudure, ‘horse’, ‘knight (in chess)’; and Skt: mukha, ‘mouth’. Kuduremukha is a 1,894 m peak (Karnataka’s second highest), mountain range, national park, hill station and mining...
Nep: खरसाङ kharasāṅa ‘Little Orchid’ Town, West Bengal From Lep: kurson-rip, ‘little orchid’ [Coelogyne cristata] These little white orchids can be found in the valleys around the town. The town is a tea centre with dozens of plantations. It...
Mal: മരട് marat ‘Indian Laurel’ Suburb (Kochi), Kerala From Mal/Tam: marutu/maradu, ‘Indian Laurel [Terminalia tomentosa]’. The Indian laurel tree is famous for storing water during the dry season; this water can be tapped. Maradu is now a fast growing suburb of...
Sin: මස්කෙළිය maskeḷiya ‘Leaping Fish’ CP, Sri Lanka From Sin: mas, ‘fish’; and keliya, ‘playing, sport’. There are British-era trout-fishing huts here, near the start of the Sri Pada/Adam’s Peak Trail. They were built by the tea planters at the nearby Moray...
Sin: මාතර mātara – Tam: மாத்தறை māttaṟai Matara SP ‘Great Seaport’ SP, Sri Lanka From Sin: maha, ‘large, great’; and tara, ‘ford, ferry, riverbank, port, harbour’. Matara was also known as Mahatota (Sin: tota, ‘ford, ferry, riverbank’) and Mahapattana (Sin:...
Mal: മൂന്നാര് mūṇṇāṟ ‘Three Rivers’ Town/Hill Station, Kerala From MAL: mūnnu, ‘three’; and MAL: āṟu, river. The three mountain streams are: Mudrapuzha, Kundala and Nallathanni. Munnar is famous for its tea plantations, waterfalls, hiking trails and spectacular...
Mal: മുവാറ്റുപുഴ mūvāṭṭupuḻā ‘Three River Confluence’ Town, Kerala From Mal: mūnnu, ‘three’; āṟu/āṟṟu, ‘river’; and puḻa/puzha, ‘river’. The Muvattupuzha river flows through the town. It is the sacred Triveni Sangam (3-way confluence) of three rivers:...
Tam: நிலாவெளி nilāveḷi – Sin: නිලාවැලි nilāvæli ‘Moonlit Land’ EP, Sri Lanka From Tam: nilā ‘moonlight’; and veḷi, ‘open space’, ‘expanse’ Nilaveli has an enviably long and pristine beach which is undoubtedly even more awesome when lit up by a full...
Sin: නුවර එළිය nuvara eḷiya – Tam: நுவரெலியா nuvareliyā ‘City on the Plain’ CP, Sri Lanka From SIn: nuwara, ‘town, city’; and eliya, ‘open space, plain’. The coolest city in Sri Lanka, situated in the middle of the most important tea growing area, sits...
Mal: ഒറ്റപ്പാലം oṟṟappālaṁ ‘Single Bridge’ Town, Kerala From Mal: oṟṟa, ott(r)a, ‘single’, ‘one’; and pālam, ‘bridge (over a river)’. The Ottappalam-Mayannur bridges stretches 0.71km across the Bharathapuzha river. ...
Sin: පොල්ගහවෙල polgahavela ‘Coconut Field’ NWP, Sri Lanka From Sin: pol, ‘coconut’; gaha, ‘tree’; and wela, ‘field ’. Polgahawela is an important railway junction that joins the Main Line (Colombo, Kandy, Matale, Nawalapitiya and Badulla) and the Northern Line...
Mal: സുൽത്താൻ ബത്തേരി sulttān battēri ‘Tipu Sultan’s Battery’ [Ganapathivattam] Town, Kerala Tipu Sultan, ‘Tiger of Mysore’ and ruler of the Mysore Kingdom, used the 13thC Jain Temple here as an artillery and ammunition dump. The original name refers to the...
Mal:തിരുവനന്തപുരം tiruvanantapuraṁ ‘City of Lord Anantha’ [Trivandrum] City/Capital/District, Kerala From Mal: tiru, ‘eminent’, ’holy’; Anantha; and Skt: pur(am), ‘fort’, ‘town’, ‘city’. Anantha or Anantashayana Vishnu is the deity at the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple....
Tam: திருமங்கலம் tirumaṅkalam ‘Prosperous Land’ Town, Tamil Nadu From Tam: tiru, ‘prosperous’, ‘eminent’, ‘auspicious’; and mankalam, ‘agricultural tract’, ‘fertile country’, ‘prosperous land’. In loan words Skt: mangalam has a similar meaning to Tam:...
Kan: ವಿಜಯಪುರ vijayapura ‘Victory Town’ [Bijapur] City/District, Karnataka Bijapur. From Skt: vijaya, ‘conquest’, ‘victory’; and pur, ‘fort’, ‘city’. The city was established in the 10th-11th centuries by the Kalyani Chalukyas. It was captured by the Bahmani Sultanate...
Sin: වත්තේගම vattēgama – Tam: வத்தேகம vattēkama ‘Garden Village’ CP, Sri Lanka. From Sin: watta, ‘garden, grove’; and gama/gamuwa, ‘village’. Wattala railway station on the Periyadeniya to Matale line was coveniently located for transporting large amounts of...
