The One City, That Hold The Dignity Of Cultures In Its Names – Mangalore

 Mangaluru, was named after the deity Mangaladevi, presiding deity of Mangaladevi Temple, one of the earliest references to the city’s name was made in 715CE by Pandyam king Chettian, who called the city as Mangalapuram.Mangalore was first used in 1345CE during Vijayanagar rule.Before that during Alupya dynasty period it was referred as Mangalapura were (Mangala) means auspicious in kannada. As Mangalore was an important centre for Indian Ocean Trade it was also known by Manjalur in Arabic.During British rule from 1799 ,anglicised version Mangalore became official.

Mangalore has diverse culture and communities ,and those have different names in their languages, and every name is unique in its own way. In the region, the primary spoken language is Tulu, and they called it ‘Kudla’ which means junction because it is situated at the confluence of the Netravati and Gurupura river.People here mention it “Namma Kudla” with love. As the official language of the state is Kannada, it is known as Mangaluru, a reference to Mangaladevi and the suffix ‘uru’ means town or city. In the olden Havyaka kannada they are called ‘Kodeyaala’. Widely Christians in the city speak Konkani and they refer to it as ‘Kodial’. The muslim community here are known for the language Beary, and were they mention it ‘Maikala’.

There are many other languages spoken widely by the outsiders of the city and popularly Malayalam, in this language it is referred to as Mangalapuram’. With the touch of Arabic it is known as ‘Manjaror/Manjilore’ and in Urdu it is ‘Kaudal’. There are references to Sanskrit called ‘Manjarun’. And finally in the language of English it is known to be ‘Mangalore’ which is popularly used around. But officially in 2014 it is called as ‘Mangaluru’ following Kannada.

As the Exquisite culture  pumps into the nerves of cities, no metropolitan gets the privilege of diverse culture in their names, like the city of Mangalore.10 varieties of names in different languages for  one beautiful city. Thus the name itself brings into view the cultural, ethnic and social diversity and the charm for which the city strives for.