A Wail On Two Cities
Published: February 6th, 2007
By: Jim Mullen

A wail on two cities

There was a charge for $29.32 from a company I didn’t recognize (FFCo) on my charge-card bill. What is FFCo? I called the billing department where a Roger Smith answered the phone.

Ah, yes, FFCo, the Flimflam Co. They own a chain of seafood restaurants and they manufacture fiber-optic cable. Did I buy any fiber-optic cable on Tuesday the 14th at the Fish Hut by any chance? I did have the orange roughy at the Fish Hut on the 14th. I’m sure this could be settled with a phone call.

There was something with the way he said “sir” that gave away the fact that Roger was half a world away in India. His accent was perfect, you’d have to really pay attention to know that he was in the Silicon Valley of India, Bangalore, home to many of the highest of the high-tech companies in the world.

Of course, I mean Bengalooru.

It turns out, the very day I spoke to Roger Smith, Bangalore officially changed its name to Bengalooru. If Bengalooru is the name of the town, how did it become Bangalore in the first place? No doubt some Brit during the Colonial days couldn’t wrap his tongue around Bengalooru and wrote down “Bangalore” in a note to the East India Co.

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