Indian Names Of Places

-abad From Farsi, 'populated' or 'settled'. E.g., Ahmedabad.
-adri Sanskrit (?) 'hill'. E.g., Narayanadri, Anjanadri.
-aranya Sanskrit 'forest'. E.g., Namisharanya.
-bagh Farsi 'garden'. E.g., Charbagh.
-bakkam, -vakkam Tamil, 'area' or 'neighbourhood'?? E.g., Nungambakkam, Villivakkam.
-bandar, -bandra Western India, 'port'. E.g., Porbandar.
-bari ?? Bengali 'house', Assamese 'orchard'. E.g., Alubari.
-basti Hindi 'settlement'. E.g., Dayabasti, Shakurbasti
bazar Mostly in UP/Bihar. 'Market'. E.g., Siswa Bazar.
cutchery, kacheri, kutchuhery (other variant spellings exist). 'Court'. E.g., Gonda Kutchuhery.
-chawni Hindi 'cantonment'.
-cheruvu Telugu 'lake'.
-dham ?? 'Temple'? E.g., Baidyanathdham, Gandhidham.
-dih ?? E.g., Manduadih, Pathardih.
-duar, -dooar ?? Perhaps from Sanskrit dwar, 'door', 'entrance'. E.g., Alipurduar.
-durg 'Fort'. E.g., Nandidurg, Jaladurg.
-eshwar, -eshwaram From Sanskrit ishwar, 'god', 'lord'. E.g., Ankleshwar, Rameshwaram.
-gachhi (variant spellings exist). From Bengali for 'tree'? E.g., Bamangachhi.
-ganj Northern & eastern India. 'Trading post', 'warehouse'? Perhaps from Indo-Iranian word meaning 'treasure'. E.g., Collectorganj, Daryaganj.
-gaon Hindi 'village'. E.g., Chalisgaon.
-garh Hindi 'Fort'. E.g., Chittorgarh.
-ghat Access point for a river with steps leading down, or a jetty. E.g., Digha Ghat.
-giri Sanskrit 'mountain'. E.g., Chandragiri.
-gola Bengali 'warehouse'. E.g., Lalgola, Bhagwangola.
-gram Sanskrit 'village'. E.g., Lakhmani Gram, Sewagram.
-gudi Kannada 'temple'. E.g., Basavanagudi.
-gunta Telugu 'lake'. E.g., Renigunta.
-guri, -gara Loosely, 'place' (Bengali?). E.g. Jalpaiguri, Mainaguri, Siliguri, Matigara.
-gutta Telugu 'hill', also -gudda in Kannada. E.g., Panjagutta.
-hat, -hati, -hatta, -het 'Market' or 'fair'. E.g., Guwahati, Jorhat, Sylhet.
kasba Arabic qasbah, a market town. Often used as a prefix.
kalan 'Big', the bigger of two towns/villages with the same name. E.g., Kosi Kalan, Jharonda Kalan.
khurd 'Small', the smaller of two towns/villages with the same name. E.g. Ugar Khurd, Renala Khurd.
-kere Kannada 'lake'. E.g., Arsikere.
-konda Telugu 'hill'. E.g., Golconda, Penukonda.
-kot 'Fort' or 'fortified town'. E.g., Rajkot, Pathankot. Perhaps a variant of this is -kotla ('fortification').
-kovil Tamil 'temple'. Variant spelling is -coil. E.g. Nagercoil.
-madugu Telugu 'lake'. E.g. Jammalamadugu.
-malai Southern India, 'hill'. E.g., Sabrimalai, Kollamalai, Annamalai.
mandi Hindi 'Market'. Often a prefix. E.g., Mandi Adampur, Mandi Gobindgarh, Sabzimandi.
-mangalam Tamil, perhaps a camp for soldiers. E.g., Needamangalam.
-mer Perhaps 'mountain' from Sanskrit 'meru'. E.g., Ajmer, Barmer, Jaisalmer.
-nagar Sanskrit 'town'. E.g., Srinagar.
-nath Sanskrit 'lord', usually referring to deities/shrines. E.g., Ambernath, Parasnath.
-ner ?? E.g. Bikaner, Gajner.
-pahar Hindi 'hill'. E.g., Belpahar, Tinpahar.
-palli Tamil/Telugu. Also -halli, -alli Kannada. 'Village'. E.g., Thiruchirapalli, Jalahalli.
-palya, -palyam Kannada? E.g. Kalasipalyam.
-para Bengali 'locality'. E.g. Rangapara, Kendrapara.
-pat Haryana/Punjab. Probably 'rock' or 'plateau' from Sanskrit prastar. E.g., Panipat, Sonepat.
-patnam Southern India, 'port'. Several variant spellings. E.g., Masulipattanam.
-pet, -pettai Southern & western India. 'Marketplace'. E.g., Hospet, Jolarpettai.
-prastha Sanskrit 'established'. E.g., Indraprastha.
-prolu Telugu 'village'. E.g. Bhattiprolu, Gollaprolu.
-pur, -puri, -pura, -puram, -pore From Sanskrit, a town (walled city -- may also mean a city with a citadel or palace). E.g., Kanpur, Thiruvananthapuram. Also Singapore!
qila Arabic 'fort'.
-sandra Kannada? E.g. Chennasandra.
-sar Sanskrit, 'lake' (from sarovar). Mostly in northwestern India. E.g., Amritsar, Soodsar.
-serai, -sarai In medieval times, an inn or resting place for travellers. E.g., Mughalsarai.
-shahar Farsi 'town'. E.g., Bulandshahar.
-sthan Sanskrit 'place'. E.g., Rajasthan.
-tal, -talao, -talaiya Hindi, 'natural lake'. E.g., Nainital.
-tanr, -tand 'On the river bank' (Bengali?). E.g., Jamuniatanr, Tulsiatanr.
-ur, -oor, -uru, -ore Tamil/Kannada/etc. 'village'/'town'. E.g., Kadambur, Bangalore, Coonoor.
vihar Sanskrit 'garden', 'park'. E.g., Anand Vihar, Mayur Vihar.
-wada, -wara 'House'. E.g., Bhilwada, Teliwara.

FOOD

Some stations on IR are famous for the regional specialty food items available there. Below follows a list of some of them. Compiled by Sukrut Thipse.
Pune - Tea, Misal, and Patties in the canteen
Karjat - Batata vada / vada pav (Potato snack)
Lonavala - Chocolate Fudge / Cashewnut Chikki (cashewnut brittle candy)
Neral - Seasonal Jambhool fruit
Khandala - Seasonal Jamoon fruit (plums)
Solapur - Kunda (sweet barfi)
Kolhapur - Sugarcane juice
Miraj - Saar and Rice
Hubli - Hubli rice (Curd rice (yogurt rice) with onions, chile peppers, and pickles)
Mysore - Dosa
Tiruchirapalli - Bondas in several variations
Hyderabad - Chicken biryani
Calicut (Kozhikode) - Dal vada
Quilon - Rasam
Mangalore - Egg Biryani
Ernakulam - Fried yellow bananas
Nagpur - Bhujia, and oranges
Guntakal - Mango jelly
Chennai Central - Samosas, idli, dosa
Rameshwaram - Idiuppam (Rice Noodles)
Agra - Petha (candied pumpkin)
New Delhi - Aloo chat (tangy potato snack)
Indore - Farsan
Ahmedabad - Vadilal ice-cream
Surat - Undhyo (mixed vegetables)
Ranchi - Puri bhaji
Howrah - Sandesh
Amritsar - Lassi, Aloo paratha
Bangalore - Vada sambar, fresh fruit juices
Jaipur - Dal bati
Gandhidham - dabeli
Varanasi - Seasonal amrud fruit (guava)
Gorakhpur - Rabdi (a sweet made of milk and sugar)
Guwahati - Tea (Assam blend)
Madurai - Uthappam (spicy lentil/rice pancake)
Ajmer - Mewa (Mix fruit)
Vasco-da-gama - Fish curry/cutlets
Ratnagiri - Mangoes, dried jackfruit
Vijayawada - Fruit juices
Rajahmundry - Bananas
Daund - Peanuts
Tirupati - Ladoos, sevai
Londa - Jackfruit
Allahabad - Motichur ladoos
Ambala - Aloo paratha
Puri - Halwah
Bhubaneshwar - Dal and rice
Coimbatore - Sambar-rice, tamarind-rice, lemon-rice
Dehradun - Salted cucumber
Gwalior, Bhopal - Boiled chickpeas with chile peppers
Surendranagar - Tea with camel's milk
Anand - Gota (fenugreek fritters), and milk from the dairy farm there
Khambalia Junction - Potato/onion/chili fritters
Dwaraka - Milk pedhas
Viramgam - Fafda (ganthiya), Poori + Alu-bhaji
Pendra Road - Samosas
Manikpur - Cream
Thanjavur - Salted cashewnuts
Bharuch - Peanuts
Maddur - Maddur-vade
Chinna Ganjam - Cashewnuts
Gudur - Lemons
Panruti - Jackfruit
Virudunagar - Boli (a thick sweet flat bread)
Sankarankoil - Chicken biryani
Srivilliputtur - Paal kova (a soft milk-based sweet)
Manapparai - Murukku
Fatehabad-Chandrawatiganj - Gulab Jamun
Mehmedabad - Samosa
Shamli - Aloo tikki
Gajraula - Tea
Vadodara - Flavoured milk