Takri script

"Takri" redirects here. For the Unicode block, see Takri (Unicode block).
Brahmic scripts
The Brahmic script and its descendants

The Takri script (Devanagari: टाकरी; sometimes called Tankri) is an abugida writing system of the Brahmic family of scripts. It is closely related to, and derived from, the Sharada script formerly employed for Kashmiri. It is also related to the Gurmukhī script used to write Punjabi. Until the late 1940s, an adapted version of the script (called Dogri, Dogra or Dogra Akkhar) was the official script for writing Dogri in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and for Kangri, Chambeali and Mandeali in Himachal Pradesh. There is also some record of the script's use in the history of Nepali (Khas-kura).

Takri itself has historically been used to write a number of Dardic and Western and Central Pahari languages in the Western Himalaya, such as Gaddi or Gaddki (the language of the Gaddi ethnic group), Kashtwari (the dialect centered on the Kashtwar or Kishtwar region of Jammu and Kashmir) and Chamiyali (the language of the Chamba region of Himachal Pradesh). Takri used to be most prevalent script for business records and communication in various parts of Himachal Pradesh including the regions of Chintpurni, Una, Kangra, Bilaspur and Hamirpur. The aged businessmen can still be found using Takri in these areas, but the younger generation have now shifted to Devanagari and even English (Roman). This change can be traced to the early days of Indian independence (1950s−80s).

Revival movement

Since Takri fell into disuse,[2] there have been sporadic attempts to revive the script in Himachal Pradesh. Recent efforts have been made to teach the script to Himachalis.[3]

Unicode

Takri script was added to the Unicode Standard in January, 2012 with the release of version 6.1.

Block

Main article: Takri (Unicode block)

The Unicode block for Takri is U+11680–U+116CF:

Takri[1][2]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+1168x 𑚀 𑚁 𑚂 𑚃 𑚄 𑚅 𑚆 𑚇 𑚈 𑚉 𑚊 𑚋 𑚌 𑚍 𑚎 𑚏
U+1169x 𑚐 𑚑 𑚒 𑚓 𑚔 𑚕 𑚖 𑚗 𑚘 𑚙 𑚚 𑚛 𑚜 𑚝 𑚞 𑚟
U+116Ax 𑚠 𑚡 𑚢 𑚣 𑚤 𑚥 𑚦 𑚧 𑚨 𑚩 𑚪 𑚫 𑚬 𑚭 𑚮 𑚯
U+116Bx 𑚰 𑚱 𑚲 𑚳 𑚴 𑚵 𑚶 𑚷 𑚸
U+116Cx 𑛀 𑛁 𑛂 𑛃 𑛄 𑛅 𑛆 𑛇 𑛈 𑛉
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 12.0
2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

References

  1. ^ Pandey, Anshuman (2009-04-06). "Proposal to Encode the Takri Script in ISO/IEC 10646" (PDF).
  2. ^ "Tankri once the language of royals, is now dying in Himachal Pradesh - Hindustan times". Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  3. ^ "Ancient scripts of Indian Mountains fights for survival - Zee News". Retrieved 2017-01-09.

External resources