Antakshari

Antakshari (अन्ताक्षरी)is a musical game played in South Asia, particularly in India and Pakistan.

The word is derived from two Hindi (with Sanskrit origins) roots:
#"Ant" (अन्त) meaning End
#"Akshar" (अक्षर) meaning letter of the alphabet

The idea of the game is to start singing the first two lines of a Hindi film song (usually from Bollywood movies).

The game can be played by two or more people and is particularly popular as a group activity during commutes, bus rides etc. The 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.

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.

Example

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

This song ends with ले (le). It can be followed by:

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 hain,
Ishq yeh dekh ke hairaan hain,
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 (n):

Na, na, re, Na, na, re, Na, na, re, Na, na, re, Na, na, re,
Barso re megha, megha
Barso re megha, megha,
Barso re megha, barso...
"(Move: Guru (2007 film))'

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

Note that we consider the consonant and not the vowel.

Typical rules:

* The first group must recite the following rhyme to clue the first singer for their beginning letter:

Baithe, baithe, kya kare? Karna hai kuch kaam...
Shuru karo antakshari, leke prabhu ka naam!
"We are sitting around, and want something to do...
""Let us play antakshari, having praised the Lord!"

* This means that the first song must start with (m).
* The songs have to be started from the beginning.
* Only songs from Indian movies are allowed by default. Songs from other languages can be allowed with prior agreement if most people in the group know that language.
* At least the first two lines of the song, have to be sung.
* No song can be repeated again in the same round.
* Some flexibility is allowed for unusual endings. For example ई and य are considered equivalent, ड़ equals ड .
See this video : [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ko0HW4VLvk]

ee also

* Bollywood songs

External links

* [http://www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2005/02/28/University/Antakshari.Brings.Competition-879051.shtml?norewrite200608142055&sourcedomain=www.dailytexanonline.com Antakshari brings competition]

*http://starone.indya.com/serials/antakshari/index.html
* [http://www.sandhaan.com/hindi/index.php?title=%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%A3%E0%A5%80:%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%80 Alphabatically (in Devnagri/Hindi) ordered listing of hindi songs on Sandhaan.com]