Jaya

Jaya is the Sanskrit word for victory, a cry that rings through epic battle scenes and temple processions alike. It is the name of a royal companion to Durga, of a river in the south, and of countless girls and women across India. Rendered जया, it arrives in two quick beats, JAH-ya, light enough to be called across a courtyard. The actor and politician Jaya Bachchan has made it familiar far beyond India; in film credits alone it runs through several generations. Confident without bluster, small enough to fit anywhere, Jaya is triumph in its most portable form.