US man receives gift from Indian math professor, asks netizens on X for help to translate inscription

An American citizen posted a picture of a book which he received from his Indian maths teacher and asked the "fine people from India" to explain the inscription written. This post has since gone viral on social media, receiving one million views and around 9,900 likes.

Curious to understand the inscription written over the maths book, the X user named Martin took to the social media platform and wrote: "Dear fine people from India! Would anyone be able to translate this inscription into English? This book belonged to my Indian math advisor/professor in college, who gave me the chance to study with him for the whole year. When I graduated, he gave it to me as a gift."

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The post received hundredsof comments, helping Martin understand the inscription, which turned out to be in Tamil. One of the X users wrote, "It says Shri Ramajayam. Like Lord Ram attained victory, we write it before starting any good endeavor, praying to him to help us emerge victorious in our pursuits."

Martin responded to thecomment by saying, "It’s so lovely!"

One of the X users explained the significance of writing the name of God in the mathematical book, saying, “It’s in Tamil. People with religious beliefs write ‘Sri Ramajayam’ or variants of such, to seek blessings from God to give them strength and positivity to succeed in the activity they are about to begin. It can be viewed as a form of prayer or belief. To each their own!”

Martin, seemingly understanding the importance of the word written over it, which he earlier mistook as his professor’s name, said, “(T)Hat makes perfect sense now. My Math Professor said he bought this book in an Indian Book Store in Bombay and wanted to take it with him cause he was accepted to study pure math in University of Toronto, Canada.”

The inscription on the maths book that Martin received from his Indian professor indicated good blessings and positivity before starting the subject. Martin saidthat he appreciated the gesture made by his professor and wrote, “It's just so beautiful to me.”