The Cutlass Magazine

Madrās Kerchief: Indian Indentured Women of the Caribbean and South America with Rūmāl.

The Cutlass Magazine — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 01:29:59 GMT

85 percent of Indian indentured labourers sent to the Caribbean came from North India, namely the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, while 15 percent hailed from South India, predominantly Tamil Naidu. The former departed from Calcutta Port while the later boarded ships at the Madrās Port. Both were major commercial centers on the South Asian coasts but business skyrocketed due to the presence of European trade companies followed by British, French, Dutch, and Portuguese colonisation in the region. An estimated 1.6 million East Indians were collectively ripped from their homelands and exploited under this labour scheme, shipped to various outposts across the kālā pānī (black waters). Roughly half a million found themselves scattered around the Caribbean, the vast majority of whom landed in Guyana (formerly British Guiana, not to be confused with the modern-day country of French Guiana), Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname (Dutch Guiana), and Jamaica.

About 1.6 million Indian indentured labourers were sent abroad. Roughly 500,000 of them arrived in the Caribbean. Graphic is courtesy of the British Broadcasting Channel (BBC).

Despite the Caribbean being a small geographic area with a relatively niche community of Indian people, there are interesting particularities that have developed in each former colony now country. One fascinating parallel between Guyana and Jamaica is the prevalence of the rūmāl wrapped around the heads of female indentured labourers and their descendants. Originating with the hands of coastal weavers in Madrās, present-day Tamil Naidu, these multi-coloured checkered or flannel pieces of cloth are made from cotton and vegetable dyes. They were massively popular in the fishing village, now port city, of Chennai where men wore the long reams of fabric around their waists as lūngī (sarong). European merchants first encountered the material in this context and seeing that they were both lightweight and breathable, introduced them to the international market. With documented origins going as far back as the 1500s, the rūmāl had been transported to North American, Europe, and West Africa by the 1900s; the West Indies being another hub amongst them.

East Indian women believed to be from Jamaica, pictured between 1890 and 1905. Adolphe Duperly and Sons, the University of Saint Andrews, Charles Morris’s “The Volcano's Deadly Work - From the Fall of Pompeii To The Destruction of St. Pierre”.

While some of the ladies in Trinidad and Suriname wore rūmāl, it was nowhere near as common in those two countries in comparison to Guyana and Jamaica. What are potential explanations for this phenomenon? While Madrāssīs constituted a significant minority of the overall indentured population (~15%), there was a larger share of them proportionally in Guyana. On the other end, most of the ships that landed in Jamaica had departed from Calcutta Port. But Indo-Jamaicans lived in closer proximity to the more populous Afro-Jamaicans who already adopted the Madrās kerchief due to their global popularity. With both Guyana and Jamaica under British colonial rule, they had access to European products pedaled along the Caribbean Sea. Even though the rūmāl was sold to the ancestors in yards of fabric, British merchants rebranded them as the Madrās handkerchief or kerchief, reflecting their intention for the cloth to be cut into pocket squares for men’s formal attire.

East Indian women in Guyana who work on an estate waiting in line on Friday to get their payment in return for agricultural labour. Photograph is courtesy of David Samnauth.

The thin and airy nature of the cotton made rūmāl perfect for manual agricultural labour under the blazing heat of the Caribbean sun. It was a common visual in the rural areas where women were more often engaged with that line of work. Eventually it became a part of everyday dress to the point that Indo-Guyanese and Indo-Jamaican women banded their hair in the kerchief for weddings and pūjā or Hindu ceremonies. Meanwhile, the white orhanī or veil draped on the head and across the torso made with lace, voile, or chiffon fabric was standard for the vast majority of Indo-Trinidadian and Indo-Surinamese ladies. It has been relayed anecdotally from older heads that North Indian descended women in Guyana wore plain white rūmāl while their counterparts with South Indian roots donned the colourful patterned ones. There is a common notion that an authentic rūmāl is dyed multiple times on both sides so this is a curious observation. Others noted their Nānī (maternal grandmother), Ājī (paternal grandmother), and/or Amma (Tamil kinship term for one’s mother) would store paisā (money) in the flap of the kerchief. To wrap one’s hair was a symbol of modesty as well as religious piety for those generations of women. Whether working in the fields, labouring at home, or enjoying themselves at a function; hair was rarely left loose and uncovered. The rūmāl was a point of pride and societal respect for them and they usually had multiple, some worn for fancier reasons than others and kept in special storage. Indo-Caribbean women starched and pressed their handkerchiefs. Applying starch to the cotton material stiffens the fabric and gives it that signature crisp feeling. Doing so smoothens the wrinkles and prevents stretching whenever stitching is needed.

Two East Indian women pictured in 1987 frying pūrī outside in East Canje, Berbice, Guyana. The older lady is wearing a rūmāl as part of her everyday attire. Photograph is courtesy of Kams Kufy.

While the rūmāl has declined tremendously in prominence in Guyana today, and the last few Indian women who wear them on a daily basis are expected to have passed away entirely in the next decade, it is still maintained by some shāktā devotees who preserve Madrāssī religious practices. Such rituals like Karagam Pūjā and the worship of Mūrūgan Baba, Mariamman Mā, and Kālī Mā at local kovils, the Tamil word for mandir or temple; are attended by Hindu women donning the rūmāl. They may or may not have Tamilian backgrounds themselves. Also some young men and women playing the thāppū, South Indian style frame drums, wrap the kerchief around their waists. Due to the increased interconnectedness of the Indo-Caribbean community, Trinidadian Hindus who uphold Kālī Pūjā according to the Madrās tradition have adopted these dressing styles as well. Similar to the orhanī, the handkerchief is largely relegated to ‘special occasions’. It has completely died out in Jamaica where most Indo-Jamaicans were converted to Christianity and only a minority identify as Hindus and Muslims. Those who are Hindu are part of the Sanātanist sect which derives from North India.

The Golden Girls of Jamaica pictured in 1990. L-R: Gloria "Darling" Vernal, Ethlyn Boyd, Lulu Buddah-Beepat, Marjorie Sundar-Brown, Rachael "Munwa" Buddah, Rachael Buddan, Doris Vernal, Bugun Magilcrest, Madlene Adjmul, Pandoie. Photograph is courtesy of Trevor Mykoo.

There was an ensemble of Indo-Jamaican women known as the ‘Golden Girls’. They were daughters and granddaughters of labourers who came directly from India. The Golden Girls were a fixture at cultural celebrations, pūjā, births, weddings, and funerals. Entirely from memory, without the need for song books, they sang numerous folk compositions in the Hindustani language. Some of them played instruments such as the dholak or hand drum. They proudly wore their rūmāl at each event. These ladies have all since passed away, taking the music, language, and handkerchief with them. Today the Madrās fabric is widely referred to as a ‘bāndānā,’ adorning the hair and dresses of Afro-Jamaican women for national holidays like Emancipation Day on August 1st. It is ironic that most Jamaicans do not associate the cloth with its South Asian origins nor Indian indentured labourers. This is also true of the West Indian community as a whole excluding Indo-Caribbean people due to how ingrained the Madrās cloth is in African cultural wear. How the rūmāl was adopted by African-descended people in the West Indies, especially the French Caribbean, is a complex history but that will be explored in-depth in another post. Please subscribe to keep up to date when that article is live!

The late Aunty Chalma, who was 89 years old when this picture was taken, believed to be the oldest surviving worker on the Leonora Sugar Estate in Guyana. Her parents were indentured labourers who came directly from India. Photograph is courtesy of Denise Case D’Aguiar.

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Diasporic Coinages: The Curious Case of 'S' in 'Caribbeans' and Local Community Backlash

The Cutlass Magazine — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 15:01:37 GMT

There are few ways to unite the Caribbean. Despite the immense diversity of the region, as well as our shared histories of European colonisation, we are somehow always feuding with one another. Who has the best version of Carnival? Whose accent is the sweetest? Reggae and dancehall versus soca calypso, which one is the nicest? Are Guyana and Suriname considered Caribbean? It seems every year the flames of discord are fanned and social media has done nothing to put out the fire. But one topic has seemingly banded together West Indian people, particularly those online, against their foreign born and/or raised community members. In just the past couple of years, the identity label Caribbeans has increased rapidly in usage both digitally and in-person by those with Caribbean heritage born in or having resided for most of their lives in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom where the bulk of the diaspora can be found. While the Caribbean American, Caribbean Canadian, and British Caribbean communities are certainly not in agreement over the term, since younger folks are the main users, it has been rejected outright by those who roots remain planted in the homeland. The inclusion of an ‘s’ to the end of Caribbean has almost become a litmus test for one’s cultural authenticity, making those in favour of this coinage subject to jesting from fellow kin. When you add to this disagreement the fact that being in North America and Europe gives one more access to international media outlets, individuals in the West Indies are often annoyed to see a term they despise printed in newspapers and magazines or endorsed by platforms whose audience spans far and wide across the world. So where did Caribbeans comes from and what should we do about it?

Just as a disclaimer from the editor, The Cutlass Magazine is not in favour of this modern linguistic invention. Drawing on childhood experiences, it was common to say “I am Caribbean” and “We are Caribbean”. There was no ‘s’ in sight even a decade ago. One supposed theory for Caribbeans is the fact that being geographically distanced from the West Indies also means displacement from regional parlance. Collisions between Creole and American, Canadian, and British dialects is bound to yield archaic retentions due to the vernaculars of first generation parents and grandparents being a sort of time capsule of what was spoken at the point of their departures. Their speech is the most immediate reference for foreign born and/or raised offspring who may hold on to words and phrases no longer in vogue amongst generational counterparts in the West Indies. But at the other end of the spectrum such intermixing is going to lead to mispronunciations and creations. Caribbeans appears to fall in the latter category. In the age of social media, one instance of the term in usage by an influencer in their post is the single ember sometimes needed in order to legitimise the label for the community.

There is maybe no point in trying to advocate for or against deriving Caribbeans from Caribbean on a grammatical level. If we take into consideration other markers that end with -n, the ones at the top of mind: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, Japan, Bhutan, Lebanon, Yemen, Oman, Jordan, and Iran. If you examine their demonyms: Pakistani, Afghan, Sudanese, Japanese, Bhutanese, Lebanese, Yemeni, Omani, Jordanian, and Iranian. Demonym is an adjective used to refer to a person from a particular nation or area. While some are pluralised from person to people (i.e. Afghans, Iranians, Jordanians) they are not directly pluralised from place to people in the way Caribbean and Caribbeans are. Yet Caribbean is also distinct because it is a regional marker not a national one. Much in the same way you cannot pluralise Latin (referring to people from Latin America) into Latins. Other regional labels are not coined with that relationship. Middle East becomes Middle Eastern and West Indies yields West Indian. Britain, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales; is denoted as British. Regions ending in -a have an -n tacked on the end (i.e. America to American, Africa to African, Asia to Asian, Australia to Australian). If you look up the terms above in a search engine they all do exist, with the exception of Caribbeans for which the results revert back to Caribbean.

If you search for ‘Caribbeans’ online, it automatically defaults to Caribbean as the demonym.

‘Language prescriptivism’ is the process of defining what is correct and proper in a language. These rules are usually designed to suggest how persons should communicate, sometimes at odds with how they actually communicate. Such approaches to speech are criticised for overstandardising languages. But if you note existing turns of speech such as “chai tea” or “naan bread,” those are often made fun of due to the redundancy. The second word is a synonym of the first and therefore it is unnecessary. Similarly, there is no need for “roti skins” or “roti shells” (another advent in both the Caribbean and diaspora) since “roti” is a standalone meal and there is no need for clarification when it is prepared or eaten without a filling or side dish. “Skins” and “shells” are both unwarranted qualifiers. Using logic from the above examples, Latins included, there is no void left by Caribbean for Caribbeans to fill. Caribbean, Caribbean people, Caribbean persons, Caribbean individuals, Caribbean community, Caribbean diaspora, Caribbean folks; these are already in rotation and make Caribbeans dispensable.

Whether or not a Caribbean-descended person ‘living foreign’ utilises Caribbeans, and by extension Afro-Caribbeans or Indo-Caribbeans, has become a method by which their ‘Caribbean card’ may be revoked by individuals based ‘back home’. Of course diasporic and homeland identities evolve both in parallel and independent from one another, geographically distinct but culturally inextricable, as one label can be applied to encapsulate two groups. Maybe the most immediate comparison to how locals react negatively to Caribbean versus Caribbeans is how they feel about the usage of ‘Barbadian’ when Bajan is standardised regionally as the demonym for anyone from the island of Barbados. We all know language is complex and nonsensical, especially when it applies to English. Language is also ever changing. Trying to stop this evolution, and in some cases devolution, is almost impossible. But as Caribbeans is still in an early nascent stage of development, a discussion about its merits and those who have grievances with its existence is definitely justified. What are your thoughts on this topic?

Even when approached with a sense of humour, the issue of ‘Caribbeans’ fosters engagement.

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Indo-Caribbean Sikhs: The West Indian Punjabi Community's Origins and Cultural Struggles.

The Cutlass Magazine — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 18:27:41 GMT

The history of Punjabi migration to the Caribbean is a complicated one. Despite being small in number the Sikh population has made their impact known locally. The very first gurudwara was founded by migrant Hemraj Singh, older brother of Hardit Singh, in the late 1800s/early 1900s.

There are some generalisations made about the lineage of Indo-Caribbean community. You often hear that 85 percent of Indian indentured labourers came from North India, namely the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, while 15 percent hail from South India, predominantly Tamil Naidu. The former departed from Calcutta Port while the later boarded ships at the Madras Port. It should be noted at the time Tamil Naidu was part of the Madras Presidency, Calcutta now Kolkata was in the Bengal Presidency prior to the partition into West Bengal and East Pakistan later Bangladesh. Uttar Pradesh was also formerly referred to as the United Providences. Another broad statistic is roughly 85 percent of our ancestors were Hindu and 15 percent Muslim. These notions exist because they are indeed based in facts. The majority of those who came from the subcontinent were North Indian Hindus. Significant minorities were Bangla or Bengali-speaking Bengalis, Madrassis not just from Tamilian backgrounds but Telugu (Andhra Pradesh) and Malayali (Kerala) heritage as well. When you look into the even finer details of the folks considered to be bound coolies, however, there are some fascinating outliers. Marathi, Nepali, Rajasthani, and Gujarati folks in some cases. But did you know that there were Punjabis who found themselves in the West Indies and Indo-Caribbean Sikhs alive today who are a testament to their legacy? Punjabi films, bhangra music, that is not the extent of the Indo-Caribbean relationship with Punjab and the Sikh community. For the record, Punjabi and Sikh are not synonymous. But this post is specifically examining Punjabi Sikhs in the Caribbean.

The golden dome on top most gurudwaras is an architectural expression of Sikh theological tenets, as it unites notions of purity, an awakening of the soul, and divinity with the inverted lotus flower.

Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak, who lived from 1469 to 1539, in the late fifteenth century. The movement took root in his native land of Punjab in North Indian and his message of Ik Onkar (“One God”) who represents the eternal truth and resides in every living being attracted Hindu and Muslim converts in the region. Guru-Ji’s teachings are recorded as shabda or hymns in the Sikh holy book known as the Guru Granth Sahib, a name shared with the sacred text of the Shivnarayan Panth written by Swami Shiv Narayan from Uttar Pradesh. Following in Guru Nanak’s footsteps were nine successive human gurus: Guru Angad, Guru Amar, Guru Ram Das, Guru Arjan, Guru Hargobind, Guru Har Rai, Guru Har Krishan, Guru Teg Bahadur, and Guru Gobind Singh. The teachings and songs from several of them were added to the scripture, along with the words of several Hindu saints (i.e. Kabir, Ramananda, Namdev) and Sufi mystic Sheikh Farid. These various guides and renditions of the text propagated the Sikh over the course of two centuries before the Guru Granth Sahib was at last consecrated as the eleventh, final, and eternal guru by Guru Gobind Singh (the tenth) in 1708. Today there are an estimated 30 million Sikhs worldwide, collectively known as the Sikh Panth. The vast majority, but not all, are of Punjabi background and belong to the Rajput or Khatri caste of warriors. Some couple hundred of them are found in the Caribbean, mainly Trinidad and Tobago.

The decorated wooden palki or canopy upon which holy hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib are recited aloud by a seated granthi or designated custodian of the sacred scripture in the gurudwara. Photograph is courtesy of the Gurdwara Sahib of Trinidad and Tobago official Facebook page.

The Gurdwara Sahib located in El Dorado, Trinidad and Tobago is the second oldest Sikh house of worship found in the western hemisphere and remains the only Sikh institution in the Caribbean. The name stems from “guru” meaning guide and “dwaar” for home or abode. Punjabi migration to the twin island nation has quite a complicated history. There are those who arrived in the middle to late 1800s because they were rebels involved in riots in India, namely the Indian Mutiny of 1857, and fled retaliatory punishment from the British. Select few were indentured labourers whose origins can be traced back to the parts of Punjab such as Ludhiana. Some Sikhs went abroad as labourers on the Panama Canal or to be merchants and shopkeers in Kenya and Uganda but found later themselves in Trinidad in the early to mid-1900s due to economic and/or political instability elsewhere. Others are said to have come to the West Indies while enlisted in the Indian army but still under the control of the Queen and government of England. Much of this lore has been passed down orally in families.

Now defunct Turban brand of curry powder founded by first generation Punjabi Sikh Hardit Singh in Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago. In operation locally for 85 years from 1925 to 2011.

Members of the first generation from India to land in Trinidad included Hemraj Singh (circa 1880), Sher Singh (circa 1890), and Karam Singh (circa 1930). Many of them were lone male travelers, most unmarried but some whose wives remained in the subcontinent, and married the local Trinidadian Hindu women. Sikh men bear the title of Singh translating to “lion” due to their caste based identity as soldiers, warriors, and guardians so the aforementioned individuals are not blood related. Despite that, they found solace amongst each another and at the gurudwara established in the late 1800s or early 1900s by Hemraj Singh. His brother Hardit Singh founded local spice factory Turban Brand in 1925 and remained in operation for 85 years, manufacturing curry powder and masala, until 2011 when it was purchased by rival brand Chief. As the name suggests, the logo of the Turban Brand was a bearded Sikh. Most Trinidadians, despite using the products for years, do not know the backstory.

Punjabi Sikh businessmen and friends Abtar Singh Malli from Malaysia and Gurbal Sandhu from Singapore, helped finance the construction of the new gurudwara. They were active in the wider Indo-Trinidadian community, even hosting the Sangeet Mela radio program. Photograph courtesy of the 103.1FM local station known for broadcasting local East Indian music as well as Bollywood.

The modest wooden structure built by Hemraj Singh was replaced in 2004, on the very same site, with the one pictured below. It was designed by renowned architect Sri Jaspal Bhopal, Kenyan-born Punjabi and over five decade resident of Trinidad and Tobago. The construction was financed by Trinidad-based businessmen Abtar Singh Malli of Malaysia and Gurbal Sandhu of Singapore, also of Punjabi Sikh heritage. Malli pursued employment in Trinidad after studying in Canada; opening up Discount Gold Mine in 1991, Gold Mine Jewellers in 1992, and City Jewellers in 1994. Sandhu, an industrialist, was educated in Canada too. The gurudwara adheres to the core principles of Sikhism. It is open to all, the vegetarian langar (community kitchen) meal is served free to everyone, young Trinidadian Sikhs are initiated into the faith by taking amrit, couples have an Anand Karaj (Union of Bliss) wedding ceremony performed on the premises, kirtan singing of traditional hymns is done, a single saffron-coloured jhandi (flag) called the Nishan Sahib (a powerful mark of Sikh identity) is hoisted up on the property, and sacred holidays such as Lodi and Vaisakhi are observed. Service takes place every Sunday morning. In recent decades the population of Sikhs in Trinidad has expanded due to the advent of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute, Indian High Commission, diplomatic links between India and Trinidad, as well as education and employment opportunities offered through both the University of the West Indies (UWI) and University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT).

Gurdwara Sahib constructed in 2004. Located in El Dorado, Trinidad. Designed by Kenya-born architect Sri Jaspal Bhopal. Financed by Trinidad-based businessmen the late Abtar Singh Malli of Malaysia and Gurbal Sandhu from Singapore. Photograph courtesy of the Traveling Singh blog.

Today the gurudwara sangati or congregation constitutes a mixture of Trinbagonians and Punjabi expatriates. Some musicians regularly in attendence include singers Sangeeta Jagdeo and Varuna Parsan, students of the late Professor Hari Shanker (H.S.) Adesh (1936-2021). Adesh left India in 1966 and established the Bharatiya Vidya Sansthhaan school of Hindustani classical music in San Juan, Trinidad. It has continued training artistes to this day for some six decades now. Descendants of the original Punjabi emigrants to the nation, despite sometimes marrying non-Sikhs, have carried the traditions forward. They bear names such as Kumarsingh, Umraosingh, Harditsingh, Shersingh, etc. There remains confusion in the Indo-Caribbean community about whether Singh is a distinctly Punjabi and/or Sikh surname. Two main categories of Singhs exist, those from Punjab as discussed but also folks who belong to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The second group are from the Chatri caste, the Bihari name equivalent of Rajput and Khatri. Those Singhs are Bhojpuri and Awadhi-speaking Hindus, whose practices center on readings of the Holy Ramayan as well as Hanuman Puja. The overwhelming bulk of Indo-Caribbean individuals with the name Singh belong to this lineage.

Single saffron-coloured jhandi (flag) called the Nishan Sahib is erected on the property, a physical symbol of the determination of Sikh people, the lasting message of the gurus, and Sikh liberation. Photograph is courtesy of the Gurdwara Sahib of Trinidad and Tobago official Facebook page.

WAHEGURU-JI. SAT SRI AKAL.

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Siewnarainis: Origins and Subsequent Decline of the Sieunarine Panth in the Caribbean.

The Cutlass Magazine — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 15:01:05 GMT

The Shivnarayan Panth (referred to in Trinidad Bhojpuri or Caribbean Hindustani as the Sieunarine Panth or Siewnaraini Panth) was one of the minority Hindu groups established in the Caribbean in the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth century through Indian indentureship. With the passage of time and loss of the older generations, in addition to the necessity of interfaith marriages due to low population numbers, many of the Siewnaraini customs are on the verge of disappearing entirely. It is to be noted that “panth” translates to path or sect while the “Shiv” in Shivnarayan is unrelated to the Hindu deity known as Lord Shiva, a prominent holy entity in Sanatanist Hinduism and Shaivism.

Aapan Jaat: Unpacking Caste Ideas in the Indo-Caribbean Community from Past and Present.

The Cutlass Magazine — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 10:50:17 GMT

In the past few years there has been this narrative on social media that all indentured labourers from India belonged to the lowest of low castes. Words like Dalit and untouchables are thrown around oftem. These talking points appear to be from a place of bad faith or, as we say in the West Indies, perhaps bad mind. Maybe the intention is to make Indo-Caribbean people and other descendants of indentureship ashamed of their roots, somehow grateful to European colonisers for “saving” them through the system of indentureship from the harsh daily realities of the caste system in India, or to make us weary of India and broader South Asia being an ancestral homeland. There have been many people who have commented under posts made by this page and sent direct messages along the lines of: “You all are so obsessed with India. Go back to India, see how they treat you.” Let us unpack the realities of caste and indentureship. In doing so, it is important to remember the terms our ancestors used to refer to their own lineage. The Hindustani term they utilised was “jaat” and the equivalent English Creole one would be “nation”. So what “nations” did our older heads really come from?

Breaking Down Indo-Caribbean Surnames: 'A'

The Cutlass Magazine — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 03:46:21 GMT

It is no secret that last names in the Indo-Caribbean, Indo-Fijian, Indo-Mauritian, and South African Indian communities tend to be very different from South Asian counterparts. Due to colonial mispellings, anglicisation, inheritance laws, and poor record keeping; our broken names reflect the sometimes frustrating inconsistencies of our heritage. But let us try to correct those wrongs one letter at a time, beginning with “A”. If we missed any last names, please inform us!

Abdool: Anglicised spelling of Abdul. Muslim name. Arabic origin. Translates to “servant” or “devotee”.

Ally: Anglicised spelling of Ali. Muslim name. Arabic origin. Translates to “exalted” or “elevated”. Associated with Ali ibn Abi Talib, the son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet Mohammed. He was widely respected as a student of the prophet.

Ajodha: Bhojpuri equivalent of the Sanksrit-based Hindu name Ayodhya, a holy city in Uttar Pradesh, India where Lord Ram and his family were from.

Aniroodh: Anglicised spelling of Aniruddh. Hindu name. Sanskrit origin. Translates to “invincible” or “unconquerable”. Associated with the grandson of Lord Krishna and avatar of Lord Vishnu.

Arjoon: Anglicised spelling of Arjun. Hindu name. Sanskrit origin. Translates to “shining”, “lustrous”, and “clear”. Associated with the heroic protagonist of the epic Māhābhārat who embodies ideals of courage, bravery, and purity.

Autar: Bhojpuri equivalent of the Sanksrit-based Hindu name Avatar. Translates to the “form” or “incarnation” "or “manifestation” of a deity.

Is anyone else looking forward to this extended naming convention series? Please let us know!

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