A small village in Scotland named Patna shares its name with a bustling Indian city.
There are many examples of US cities and towns that have enthusiastically adopted the names of places in other countries. However, there is also a small Scottish village named Patna, which is located 5,000 miles away from the Indian city of the same name. The story behind the Scottish Patna is connected to the original Patna, which is currently home to around 4 million people.
According to Scotsman.com, the little village of Patna in East Ayrshire, Scotland, was founded in 1802 by William Fullarton, whose father, John Fullarton, served as a major general in the East India Company. Fullarton named the new mining community after the Indian city of his birth.
Ayrshire's Patna is unusual in that it's one of just a few examples on home soil of a place name derived from foreign shores, compared with the thousands of Scots place names found around the globe.
East Ayrshire councillor Donald Reid, who has authored books on the history of the Doon Valley, says Patna's founder, William Fullarton, was a hugely important figure in the region.
Not many people in India are aware of the fact that there is a village called Patna in Scotland, but there is growing awareness among the a few thousand residents in Patna, Ayrshire.
Recently, an Instagram video about the Scottish village of Patna gained popularity, highlighting the beautiful historical connection between this tiny village and its namesake city in India. The post captured the interest of many, bringing this fascinating cultural link into the spotlight.
Watch the video here:
Scotsman.com reports that the badge for Patna Primary School bears a depiction of a rice plant to represent Bihar's rice paddies, while the children are taught all about the Indian city that gave their village its name.
A few years ago, this village also hosted Bihar Day, an event attended by YK Sinha, the then Indian High Commissioner, who also hails from Patna, Bihar.