Antakshari

Antakshri (Devnagri: अन्ताक्षरी, Urdu: انتاکشری) is a spoken parlor game played in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal. Each contestant sings the first verse of a (usually Bollywood) movie song that begins with the Hindustani consonant on which the previous contestant's song selection ended.

Etymology

The word is derived from two Hindi words:

1. Sanskrit Antya (अन्त्य) meaning End (adjective)
2. Sanskrit Akshar (अक्षर) meaning letter of the alphabet

When these words are combined and an '-i' suffixed, the term means "[The game] of the ending letter". Due to schwa syncope in Hindi, अन्त्याक्सरी is pronounced antaksh.riin Hindi, "antakdi" in Gujarati, and "antakkhori" in Bangla (and not Antakshari, though that spelling is common in transliteration). A dialectical variation of the word is इन्ताक्षरी or Intakshri.

Rules

The game can be played by two or more people and is popular as a group activity during commutes, bus rides etc. The first singer has to sing two complete lines and then s/he may stop at the end of those or following lines. The last Hindi letter of the last word sung is then used by the next singer to sing another song, starting with that letter. The winner or winning team is decided by a process of elimination. The person or team that cannot come up with a song with the right consonant is eliminated if their opponents can produce such a song.

The game is often kicked off with the consonant /m/ (म or م) with the recitation of the following couplet which varies, but usually has wording similar to -

Baithe, baithe, kya karein? Karna hai kuch kaam,
Shuru karo antakshri, leke prabhu/rabb ka naam!

• This means that the first song must start with (m).
• Songs have to be started from the last sound of the previous song.
• Only songs from Bollywood movies are allowed by default. Songs from other languages can be allowed with prior agreement.
• At least the first verse of the song must be sung. If the singer does not remember it in entirety, they cannot use the song.
• No song can be repeated again in the game.

Popularity

It started as a family pastime. Now there are several TV shows and competitions all over India based on it. The classic style is where two or more teams sing songs which start with last consonant letter of the song sung by previous team. When a team sings a song they earn points.

A popular Indian television program by the same name has run successfully on Zee TV for over 10 years. Annu Kapoor was the permanent male host while female hosts included Durga Jasraj, Renuka Shahane, Pallavi Joshi, Shefali, Rajeshwari Sachdev & Richa Sharma . Contestants have ranged from school and college-goers to housewives, professionals and celebrities. Mr.Gajendra Singh is known as the Creator of Musical Reality shows in India, Talent Scout extraordinaire’ and a true Visionary who revolutionized the Indian Cable TV scene. He is the man behind conceptualizing 'Antakshari' as a TV show and creating history. The team names of the Zee TV show are Deewane, Parwane, and Mastane.

Example

आ चल के तुझे, मैं ले के चलूं, इक ऐसे गगन के तले
जहां ग़म भी न हो, आँसू भी न हो, बस प्यार ही प्यार पले
(Movie: Door Gagan Ki)

This song ends with ले (le), i.e. the consonant /l/ ल. The next contestant could sing -

लग जा गले कि फिर ये हसीन रात हो न हो
शायद फिर इस जनम में मुलाक़ात हो न हो
(Movie: Woh Kaun Thi)

Example

Kehne ko jashn-e-bahaaraa hai,
Ishq yeh dekh ke hairaan hai,
Phool se khushboo khafa khafa hain gulshan mein,
Chupa hai koi ranj fiza ki chilman mein.
(Movie: Jodhaa Akbar)

The next song should begin with /m/ (the 'n' in mein is only a nasalization rather than a complete consonant, similar to bon/good in French):

Mai zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya, Har fiqr ko dhuen mein uraata chala gaya,
Barbadiyon ka sog manana fizool tha, Barbadiyon ka jashn manata chala gaya.
(Movie: Hum Dono (1961 film))

The next song should begin with (y) and so on.

Related games

Bait Bazi is a related game played with Urdu poetry instead of movie songs. Several word chain games also resemble antakshri in their basic methodology.

See also

• Antakshari – The Great Challenge
• Antakshari Intercollegiate Championship
• Bait Bazi
• Baas-o-Beyt
• Bollywood songs