Recasting the many legacies of the Amrits

There is much talk about the discovery of a new dynasty that once ruled India – the Amrit dynasty. While its key members, including its founder Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur, are known names, the fact that the ‘Amrits’ were yet to find mention in the history books is surprising. With this knowledge, however, one can expect corrections in nomenclature to follow the first renaming that will take place tomorrow, with the Mughal Gardens – the vast 15-acre expanse inside Rashtrapati Bhavan – to become Amrit Udyan. The following changes could be expected soon: K Asif‘s 1960 iconic epic Dilip Kumar-Madhubala-starrer to become Amrit-e-Azam; the English word ‘mogul’ – meaning a powerful person, especially in the movie and media industries – changed to ‘amroth’, the missing ‘h’ and the switch of vowels being compensated in the new word to help Western-speakers trip the Hindi/Sanskrit word more easily off their tongue.

With Mughalsarai Junction in UP already renamed Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction in 2018, re-renaming it Amritsarai Junction could be considered. Pains must be taken, though, so that travellers, especially those unfamiliar with India, do not confuse Amritsarai for Amritsar. Who knows, by calling a particular style of artwork ‘Amrit miniatures’, one could even trigger a revival in appreciating them.