R.K.Narayan born (10/10/1906)

[Ross Clark]

Indian writer (died 2001). Hm! I have a couple of his books on the shelf
here; should put them on the "to-read" pile.

Graham Greene was an early fan: "[Narayan] has offered me a second home.
Without him I could never have known what it is like to be Indian."

In an essay called "Street Names" (1956), Narayan writes about "the
passion for changing names of streets, towns, parks and squares" in
India after independence.

"Smith Lane...is always in danger of being attacked by righteous-minded
persons. Someone will suddenly discover that Smith was an odious
colonial administrator and transform the lane, with every pomp, to
Jagadguru Lane."

A Jagadguru...doesn't need such an honour; nor is the change "likely to
make the ghost of the old despot go pale with shame or remorse. On the
contrary, the despot's name should be left untouched just to show how
his despotism has proved futile in the long run."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._K._Narayan

[Athel Cornish-Bowden]

Post by Ross Clark
Indian writer (died 2001). Hm! I have a couple of his books on the
shelf here; should put them on the "to-read" pile.
Graham Greene was an early fan: "[Narayan] has offered me a second
home. Without him I could never have known what it is like to be
Indian."
In an essay called "Street Names" (1956), Narayan writes about "the
passion for changing names of streets, towns, parks and squares" in
India after independence.
"Smith Lane...is always in danger of being attacked by righteous-minded
persons. Someone will suddenly discover that Smith was an odious
colonial administrator and transform the lane, with every pomp, to
Jagadguru Lane."
A Jagadguru...doesn't need such an honour; nor is the change "likely to
make the ghost of the old despot go pale with shame or remorse. On the
contrary, the despot's name should be left untouched just to show how
his despotism has proved futile in the long run."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._K._Narayan

That seems to have been the policy of Singapore's governments over the
years. Virtually every name that I remember from my childhood
(1947-1950) whether in Rnglish (Thompson Road, the Raffles Hotel,
Woodlands Road ...) or Malay (Bukit Timah road ...) remains in use
today, and all the traffic signs are in the language of the oppressor.
Rimau (where I lived) is now View Road, but that derives from a
lengthening of the road to subsume Rimau. When I was in Singapore in
2015 or thereabouts I mentioned in my talk that I couldn't find Rimau
on the map; afterwards a helpful student consulted his grandfather, who
knew about such things and had a collection of old maps, who told him
that Rimau was now View Road. I was thus able to find where I had
lived, and found it to be one of the very few places in Singapore
(along with the Raffles Hotel and the zoo) that looked the same as in
1950.