Takri Scripts

Takri is a class of scripts written in the Himalayan belt of North India. There are two origins for these scripts – Tanka(money) and Thakur(ruler) signifying either they originated from mercantile hidden records or were used by Rajput rulers who migrated into the hills. These scripts originated from Sarada script, which was traditionally used to write Kashmiri and other languages. Due to the fact that each ruler in the area had his own hill/set of hills to rule, the languages and scripts diverged from a focal point because of which multiple languages(if not scripts) exist today. The scripts fell with their rulers as well and Devanagari is in vogue in these areas now(excepting Kashmir, which adopted Persian). The Takri of Chamba and Dogra Jammu and Kashmir are the only ones which was elevated to the level of printing. Since Dogra Takri is a later entrant, Chameali Takri is considered as the standard Takri Script. The Sirmauri scripts of Jaunsari and Sirmauri can be considered as separate scripts altogether due to the variation they show as compared to the rest. And Dogri Takri is the only extinct script used on any stamp in India as a formal language. The major Takri scripts are below –

Chambeli Takri