Friday, July 16, 2010
Run Rupee Run
The new Rupee symbol is something to write home about. The IIT graduate has proved that the institution is full of talent and can be relied upon for ideas. The new Rupee symbol is simple, clean, chiseled and still so entwined with India’s own cultural heritage of the script that dominates its public discourse, as if it is part and parcel of our old devnagari alphabet.
However this symbol is to be standing next to other globally recognized symbols and there are some aesthetic angles that could work on the subconscious mind of the beholder. Take $ or € or ₤ or ¥ ; all have solid base.
On the other hand, the new Rupee symbol conjures up a caricature of Dada’s langot hanging on the clothes line, or a kati Patang ravaged by wind, dangling on power-lines or the image of small girl playing langdi, the one-legged skip and jump game. The symbolism of run rupee run, smacks of an Indian version of American cartoon, the Road Runner. The base is missing. We do not want a run on the Rupee. Ever.
Now that we are choosing a symbol that would become the permanent fixture of our very economic pomp and pride, why not invite more ideas from the public space and find out if a better symbol with more character of stability, dignity, immediate global recognizance, ease in writing, could still be creeping out from some ingenious minds of our scattered millions.
Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai
No comments:
Post a Comment