Ramayan vs Ramayana: Why one letter sparked a cultural debate

Is it Ramayan or Ramayana? Ever since the first look of Ranbir Kapoor's upcoming film dropped, the title's spelling has stirred debate online.

Transcript

00:00Two spellings, one story.

00:01Is it Ramayana or Ramayana and does it even matter?

00:05Ever since the false glimpse of Ramayana starring Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, this A at the

00:09end of the title of the film is bothering many people online.

00:13They feel that the title should reflect how Indians commonly refer to the epic simply

00:17as Ramayana, the way it has been spoken in homes, schools and streets for decades.

00:21Some have even called for a title change to preserve Indian culture and linguistic authenticity.

00:26But is Ramayana actually an anglicized version?

00:29Anglicization, the practice of adapting names to fit English pronunciation or spelling

00:33norms has long roots in colonial history.

00:35During British rule, Indian names of people, cities and even sacred texts were often altered

00:40to suit British tongues or bureaucratic convenience.

00:42Bangwe instead of Mumbai, Kanpur for Kanpur or Pune for Pune.

00:47This wasn't always benign, sometimes it was about power and erasure.

00:51So is Ramayana one of these cases?

00:53Ramayana is how the name involved in Hindi and several other Indian languages where the

00:57final vowel is often dropped in colloquial speech.

01:00It's the version millions grew up with thanks to Raman and Sagar's 1987 Doordarshan series,

01:05which was officially titled Ramayana.

01:07In short, Ramayana is the people's pronunciation.

01:10Ramayana is the formal Sanskrit-routed one.

01:13It's not just about spelling.

01:14It's about how we remember, who we quote and whose version of culture gets validated.

01:19And yet somewhere in the middle, it's also a clever PR win for the makers of the movie.

01:23What's your take on this?

01:24Let us know in the comments below.