On Names Poem by Daniel Trevelyn Joseph

Names have music of their own
Whether of flowers, places or persons.
That which we call a rose being sweet
Everyone know.
Shakespeare or Kalidasa or Thiruvalluvar
Also sound sweet like Tolkaapiyar.

Satara, Phaltan, Gadhinglaj and Bhir
Later changed to Beed are musical too
To my ears - places I began work in.

Is there an equivalent to daffodils
That come before the swallow dares?
Is it the jasmine or marigold or kanakambaram?
Bougainvillae is beautiful too, no matter what spelling.

How about Dadar, Parel, and Worli
Followed by.Sion, Bandra, Kher and Vidyavihar
Ending with Mulund here and Borivali there.

Name is only a signpost, despite all that
The magician tells us: inherent meaning is nil.
Bombay can become Mumbai
Madras Chennai and Calcutta Kolkata,
Peking to Beijing or as insignificant
as Madurai from Madura.
But it indicates how the wind blows
In political or linguistic affairs
Husband or wife replaced by spouse
In bureaucratic forms or bedrooms.