New Delhi: Greater Noida joins the ranks of Def Col, KNags and South-Ex with its very own truncated name—GreNo. For residents tired of its addendum to Noida or being repeatedly reminded that they can never keep up with South Delhi, GreNo has a chic, cool, and cosmopolitan ring to it. And it’s organically creeping into conversations in the city’s high-rise drawing rooms and parks.
The race to inaugurate the first flight to the Jewar airport—as promised by CM Adityanath—is not the only thing that’s pushing Greater Noida closer to Delhi’s level of desirability. The anglicised name GreNo is also playing its part in elevating the area’s status. In that respect, GreNo brings Greater Noida closer to Gurugram, which is peppered with apartment complexes with names such as Beverly Park, Belaire, Magnolias, and Camelia.
“GreNo makes Greater Noida look more happening. Earlier, Greater Noida looked like a step-sister of Noida. Now, it feels that it has finally arrived with GreNo,” said Anupama Singh, RJ and anchor who’s been living in the city for the past 20 years.
Praveen Garg, a realtor for the past 18 years, says Greater Noida got the name because of the development work. Metro connectivity, expressways, new malls, and cafes have made more people from Delhi-NCR shift to Greater Noida.
“GreNo is the result of the modernisation of Greater Noida. In the last year, 60 per cent of investors have been from Delhi-NCR. And the perception has changed after Covid-19. People started looking for more open, quiet places,” Garg added.
The name also reflects the desire of its residents to portray their city as posh, trendy, and exclusive. South Mumbai became SoBo in a nod to its previous name, Bombay (and SoMo didn’t have the same ring to it). Some of the now coolest areas of New York City have rather boring ‘birth’ names: SoHo is actually South of Houston, Tribeca is the Triangle Below Canal, and Nolita is North of Little Italy.
Samarath Sinha, a social media influencer, says that GreNo makes Greater Noida more popular and desirable.
“It is attractive to the youngsters. It has made Greater Noida at par with Gurgaon and Mumbai and it makes me proud,” Sinha added.
The new name seems to have picked up traction in the industry too, with establishments coming up with names like Greno Enterprises, Greno Services, Greno House.
“These are attempts to make it sound more accessible with a sense of hipness and a cooler vibe. A trend where you want to give the area an upmarket feel. Earlier, Greater Noida was considered a B-class option to Noida,” said Santosh Desai, author and brand consultant.
He recalled a time when anyone living in Noida would be called ‘Yamuna Paar’ disparagingly. “But now, there is an acceptance. With a more affluent kind of development, this happens.”
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From Greater Noida to GreNo
The origin of GreNo is not as dramatic. It started with local Hindi newspapers attempting to save headline space. English newspapers followed, and soon it started making its way into the local lexicon.
Harendra Bhati, president of Citizen Group of Greater Noida and an environmentalist, likes it because of its green connotation. In his book, GreNo means Green Noida.
“We call it GreNo because there are lots of trees, and we ensure that a lot more trees are planted. Greater Noida is like Uttarakhand with greenery and fresh air,” said Bhati.
GreNo has acquired different meanings for different sets of residents. And for some, it’s the name of their cricket team.
Businessman Satyendra Nagar (40) leads a local sports team named GreNo Indians. While he doesn’t claim to be the innovator, the cricket team came first. He didn’t expect it to catch on the way it has.
“GreNo has become a centre of attraction. People are shifting from Delhi to Noida because of wide roads, greenery and parking. Earlier, it was hard to imagine that someone from Delhi would shift to GreNo,” he said.
But for Garg, the brand of GreNo isn’t what’s selling units.
“GreNo is somewhat fashionable. But it’s Yogi who adds to the brand equity here,” he said.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)