Re: Rupee symbol

This week the Indian government revealed a brand new symbol for the rupee. While this initiative has been in the works for some months, the manner of its conclusion took many by surprise. And not just because it came quickly, efficiently and unaccompanied by the customary dog-and-pony show which has become obligatory at every exhibition marking this country’s growing hubris.

The symbol -- a sharp, purposeful amalgam of the letter 'Ra' from the local Devanagari script and the Roman 'R', and serrated across the top by a pair of rakish lines, was designed by an alumnus of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology and is meant to formally mark India's ascendancy in the global economy. But the government is probably correct in underplaying the timing of the move, especially as it hasn't been accompanied by any steps to make the currency formally convertible or change its materiality (or lack thereof) in the global financial system by backing it up with greater foreign currency or gold reserves.

The rupee symbol's design was elected into being by the union cabinet from a selection of 25,000 options after a nationwide call for designs -- not quite as democratic as a vote, but a big step for the traditionally stoic finance ministry nonetheless. And there is perhaps enough to recommend the design as a departure from the past -- the symbol's wide swoops resembling the chest of a proud hawk or a coiled snake -- which many would argue is a vast improvement on the lumbering elephant usually used to reference the Indian economy.

The symbol also helps the currency distinguish itself from the various rupee variants that exist across neighbouring countries of the subcontinent and their abbreviations. Foreigners and even locals have struggled between using 'Rs', 'Re', 'Rps' and 'INR' to denote their formal thrust-and-counter offers in local negotiations. From now on, if they can get their heads around the precipitous contours of the new rupee symbol, they should have less trouble inking deals. And they might have to stick with ink -- the government informs us that the journey of getting the symbol from Unicode Standard inclusion, where you might have to use a keyboard shortcut to type it, to international acceptance (where it appears on keyboards and in fonts) might take up to two years.

Symbol without a name

Of course, the new arrival does have its detractors.

Regional voices have risen up to protest against the exclusionary use of Devanagari -- although Hindi, which is penned in that script, is the national language. Citizens of this city can thank its bandh-free stars that Devanagari also happens to be the script of Marathi.

Artist Bose Krishnamachari, who takes issue with the design philosophy behind the effort, labels it a lazy localization of the western archetype provided by the dollar, euro and yen symbols. "This is typical of the Hollywood-Bollywood syndrome in India," he says. While the use of Ra (for rupaiya) is fairly obvious (every one of the five shortlisted designs used the R), the winning creator of the symbol D Udaya Kumar, gives this explanation for the inclusion of the familiar double hash, "My design is based on the tricolor, with two lines at the top and white space in between." Bose isn't the only one who finds this exposition unconvincing. Others in the design fraternity question the lack of basic symmetry and balance. One keen observer pointed out its similarity to the Roger Federer crest. (Who were the other four finalists? Click here.)

Hysterical socialists are up in arms over the need to provide a visual mnemonic which endorses India's rising materialism. God forbid, it won't be long before popular cartoonist and political humorist R K Laxman's anguished 'Common Man' is seen burdened under a sack of Ra notes. Plus, what, in Ra.One's name are we even supposed to call it?

The fact that the symbol will not appear on local currency does make the whole exercise seem a lot less consequential. At least if it led to a brand new issue of paper, it could help stanch the purported flood of fake currency into our economy, in addition to averting fights with irritating shopkeepers over what constitutes acceptable/unblemished legal tender. It might even help legitimize the entirely suspicious weekly recasts of the five and 10 rupee coins we've been seeing lately.

And to quote an early bird who posted a jaded response on her Facebook status: "What difference does this symbol make if it doesn't change the exchange rate?"