Why this sweet name?
Photo: AFP
Cyclones are always devastating. They create havoc over the areas they pass throughdestroying houses, trees, cornfields and killing hundreds of thousands-- a dark scar in the socio-economic condition of the people of those areas which takes time to heal.
Nargis is a sweet name given to a lot of girls/women in the subcontinent. It denotes beauty, sweet fragrance and softness. As such we should not give this sweet name to a natural calamity which destroys life and property and brings sorrow to the people. Have we ever thought about the psychological setback of thousands of girls/women in our country having the name 'Nargis?' Has any Bangladeshi been named 'Mir Jafar'?
From the Internet, I could find that the list of names for the storms/cyclones in the North Indian Ocean contains, among others: Nisha, Helen (Suggested by Bangladesh) Nargis, Laila, Nilofar, Bulbul (Suggested by Pakistan) Priya (Suggested by Sri Lanka) These are all sweet names of thousands of women in the subcontinent and we have no right to upset them by naming the devastating cyclones after them.
I would request our Metrological Department not to use the name of human beings or for that matter names/words with good meaning for denoting a cyclone which always takes a heavy toll. Rather, these names should reflect disaster, havoc etc. that they cause to us.
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