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Ritik and Ritika
Is the name Ritik a variant of Hritwik? Also, what is the origin of Ritika ?I wondered why the Frisbee was getting bigger, and then it hit me.

This message was edited 5/13/2009, 1:15 AM

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This is a case where kowing the spelling in some Brahmi-orgin script would definitely have helped. Hritwik is a typical Hindi-belt pronounciation of Rtvik, which is a very old word: the root R, to go up or towards, rise, go straight, obtain, reach, etc. gave rise to a cluster of words, one of which is Rtu, the meeting time, the appropriate time, the time that is marked for something etc. (and is, for example, the usual word for the variety of concepts dealing wth various `fixed points' in time: season, menstruation, or the 16th day past that, the ideal time for procreation). A different root yaj means to worship or adore; and both R and yaj have cognates in other Indo-European languages like Greek. Combined Rtvij (whose nominative singular is Rtvik) is a person that worships at the right time, and is the general title given to each of the sixteen priests needed for performing a ritual in the vedic era.The same word is pronounced Hrittik or Rittik in the Bengali region, but it is still spelt Rtvik (or actually, the last closed syllable is spelt open because the sign marking a closed syllable is rarely used: open syllables are also pronounced closed).Without seeing the spelling in Indian languages, I really cannot tell: the names you write could be derived from rI to move or let move freely (which gives us rIti, the proper course or way of doing something), but then, of course, it could come from rItikA meaning brass, who knows :-)
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Thanks for the explanation. However, I think people have rather stopped using that typical alphabet which I suppose you are suggesting me in the names like ritu, richa etc. Nowadays R is used for both the pronounciations.
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