When Earth Becomes Thrae

If the theory of Parallel Universes were true, there must be at least one universe where things happen in reverse. In that fantasy world, Saurav Ganguly would have fired Shah Rukh Khan from KKR; Osama would have hunted down Obama’s hideout; and Manmohan would have, by now, become Sonia’s remote!

I suspect Thrae (Earth read backwards) would be the name of that planet. And every being there would be known by their Ananym (a word derived by reversing the spelling of another word). For example, Men won’t be Men. Nem will be more like it. Chances are they must be stay-at-home dads focusing on rearing Nerdlihc for a polyandrous species called Nemow who prefer to wear the pants at home.

The currency of Thrae would most probably be Hsac. Unlike its terrestrial cousin Cash, Hsac must be a least-sought-after liability with the bizarre ability to turn anyone poorer. So no Fortune 500 lists. Only Misfortune 500.

In all likelihood, our very own India in Thrae would be a muscle-flexing, war-mongering subcontinent courted by aman-ki-asha loving nations like Natsikap and Anihc. The United Nations, in such a paradigm, would be dominated by the majestic leadership of Uruan, a teeny-weeny Polynesian island best remembered for exporting bird poop to a world, craving for more shit.

To sum up, Thrae would be the very antithesis of Earth. Out there, Paris Hilton would be the Mother Teresa. Pramod Muthalik would be Saint Valentine. Anna Hazare, a Nigerian Scamster. And Arundhati Roy, a rightist wrongster.

From a cinematic point of view, Thrae offers amazing grist for an Inceptionesque script. But what excites me more, is the naming possibilities offered by its core idea of reverse thinking. We can create a terragazillion names with this new technique.

For parents tired of the same old baby names spewed by Google and Maneka Gandhi, thinking backwards can be a massive eye opener. For example, the masculine Arjuna can yield you the feminine Anujra. The girly Kareena can result in a boyish Aneerak. Simple Ishwar can morph into an exotic Rawshi. All it takes is a little reverse engineering!