In his reflections, Devdutt Pattanaik highlights the Brahmi script not just as an ancient writing form, but a vivid cultural dancer—where consonants (aksharas) serve as masculine anchors while vowels (mātrikās) whirl around like feminine energies, reminiscent of playful gopīs around Krishna or mystic yoginīs around Bhairava.

Unlike the linear sequences of Greek or the angular flow of Semitic scripts, Brahmi’s circular, left-to-right structure feels organic and cosmic its visual language echoing mythic imagery and philosophy.

From its appearance in Ashoka’s edicts, Brahmi evolved into major Indian scripts like Nāgarī, Devanagari, Kadamba and radiated outward: birthing scripts such as Baybayin (Philippines), Javanese (Indonesia), Khmer (Cambodia), Chiṃ (Vietnam) testaments to its adaptability across regions and centuries.

Today, its legacy lies in the alphabets we use scripts carrying centuries of cultural exchange, spiritual insight, and linguistic innovation. For Pattanaik, Brahmi is not a relic but a living bead chain of stories, continuity, and creative force that shaped the very shapes we read and write.