Vile Parle, Ville Parle, Vile Parale, Virle Parle

Shrikant Yadav, 27, a lift technician and resident of Vile Parle, gave up trying to pass his HSC exams because the English language always left him confounded. But this did not stop Yadav from getting to the bottom of a spelling mix-up of a station name by the Western Railway.

After wondering why the station name was spelled ‘Vile Parle’, ‘Ville Parle’ and ‘Vile Parale’ at separate places at the same station, he asked the divisional railway manager about it through RTI. He was stunned when he was promptly informed that the correct spelling was actually ‘Virle Parle’.

Yadav said, “When we buy a ticket for Vile Parle, it has the spelling ‘Vile Parle’. A few old signboards on the platform also have the same spelling. However, the new boards in red and blue have the spelling ‘Ville Parle’. A few days ago, the railways put up four glow signs at all exits of the stations proclaiming ‘Vile Parale’. When I pointed out the mistake to railway officials on the platform, they told me to mind my own business.”

Determined to find out what the correct spelling was, Yadav applied to the divisional railway manager’s office in Churchgate on June 28 under the Right to Information Act, 2005.

He was astounded to be told in their reply, dated August 2, that ‘Virle Parle’ was the correct spelling as per the Railway Board.

“I had never seen the spelling ‘Virle Parle’ before and was surprised that there was one more way to spell Vile Parle and that the station had never ever got it right. Curious, I wrote to the DRM’s office once again asking why the display boards at the station did not have the spelling as per their records,” Yadav said.

On October 3, the DRM’s office replied saying that the spelling mistake would be corrected to ‘Virle Parle’ within a month. However, it is almost a month now, and the boards are just as they are, Yadav said.

Satyaprakash Shrivastava, WR DRM, said, “The name ‘Virle Parle’ was given to railway authorities by state government authorities. If there is any mistake, we will get the right name from the state administration and change our records accordingly.”

Source: mumbaimirror.com