Calcutta, Dec. 23 :    Calcutta, Dec. 23:  Calcutta has returned from Delhi as Kolkata. The Centre today formally approved the proposal to rechristen the city. Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, one of the prime movers behind the rename campaign, said: 'Akhhon Kolkata phire elo Kolkatay (Now Kolkata has returned to Kolkata).' He added: 'Though belated, I am happy that the Union home ministry has accepted our proposal to change the name of Calcutta to Kolkata.' Not everyone in the city, however, looks forward to life as Kolkatabasi. Writer Annada Shankar Roy, for one. 'I am not in favour of changing the spelling of a name which has been in existence for 300 years,' said Roy, who is also Bangiya Bhasa Parishad chairman. 'The government has aped Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, which changed the names of Bo-mbay and Madras to Mumbai and Chennai,' the nonagenarian said. The proposal to rename the 310-year-old city was sent to the Union home ministry by the state government last year. The Centre put its stamp of approval 'after careful consideration'. State chief secretary Manish Gupta said Calcutta would become Kolkata - at least on official letterheads and stationery - very soon. Bengal is waiting for the formal letter from Delhi. 'We will make a notification in the Gazette and send it to proper authorities,' said Gupta. He added that the Centre would send the approval to the department of posts and the Survey of India, which will decide how Kolkata would be spelt in Hindi. Kolkata, however, has found no favour with another Calcuttan, film director Mrinal Sen. Quoting Annada Shankar Roy, Sen said Calcutta and Kolkata go hand in hand, phonetically, linguistically and historically. 'If reason and sentiment go hand in hand, there is nothing like it,' he added. But writer Sunil Gangopadhyay, an ardent advocate of the new name, welcomed the Centre's decision. 'Why should the name of our city be different in English and Bengali?' Gangopadhyay asked. He was also for renaming West Bengal. 'Our state is called West Bengal, a translation of Paschim Banga. No other state is named this way,' he said. A move is afoot for Paschim Banga, but the Centre has not taken any initiative on the matter. A state's name has to be changed through an Act of Parliament. In the case of a city, a state government can move on its own after a clearance from the Centre.