Of Eurasian Travelers And Travelogues

Priyanka Rout

Of Eurasian Travelers And Travelogues

Long back in the days of yore, when India was filled to the brim with gold and riches, it fascinated people from all corners of the world. Merchants, emperors, traders, slaves and whatnot; India was a hub for a colourful culture that only enhanced with time. However, with the advent of travellers, things changed. Until then, people had only heard about the fascinating Indian subcontinent, but now, people were going to read about it through travelogues.

A seventeenth-century artistic version of Cochin based on the description of Niccolo de Conti; Source: notesonindianhistory.com

Long long ago, in the fourteenth century, a globe trotter emerged from the lands of Italy. With a dream in his eyes and a mission in his hands, he was ready to explore Asia. But how did the journey of Niccolo de Conti begin? It is said that when Marco Polo returned in the thirteenth century, there was no record of any Italian trader returning from China, except Niccolo, through the sea route.

De Conti crossed the dunes of the desert to reach Baghdad, and from here, he travelled to Basra through the rough Tigris. He then went sailing through the Persian Gulf and reached Iran, where he learnt the beautiful language of Persia. But he was yet to see the natural beauty in the Indian subcontinent. Crossing the Arabian Sea, when he finally reached Cambay (present-day Khambhat) in Gujarat, he found Helly, Pacamuria, and Vijayanagara.

In the 1420s, Vijayanagara was a flourishing and powerful kingdom. Fascinated by the prosperity and peace of Vijayanagara, he coined the phrase 'Italian of the East.' Later, he also travelled to Maliapore (present-day Mylapore) in Chennai, where the tomb of St. Thomas lies. It is said that Thomas was the first person to have founded a Christian community there.

If today we Indians bask in the glory of an illustrious heritage, it is because of the archives recorded for us by the medieval travellers who loomed the silken threads of their words in the history of civilisations and eras gone by. To enrich Indian history with the perception of someone from Tver, a scenic city where the two rivers Tmaka and Tvertsa meet and become the traditional lifeline of European Russia, a daredevil traveller decided to set his journey

Conti then travelled to Pedir in northern Sumatra and spent a year learning about the trading systems of spices and gold. During those days, intensive trading took place between China and Sumatra, and all of these have been mentioned in the voyages of Zheng He who was so fascinated with the luxury and cultural diversity that he described South East Asia as "exceeding all other regions in wealth, culture and magnificence, and abreast of Italy in civilization."

Often travellers went on voyages alone, and their families stayed back in their home countries. However, it was different in the case of Conti. He met his wife in India, and his children travelled with him. But his wife and two of his children died in Egypt during an epidemic. It is fascinating that Conti never left his dream unfulfilled. He continued travelling with his remaining two children and finally returned to his abode in Venice as a respected merchant trotting around the globe.

The threads of history, woven by travellers have created the fabric through which we drape ourselves with pride and boast our rich heritage. The next traveller who entangled the looms of his nation with our history was Johan Albrecht de Mandelslo. Emerging from the land of Germany, he was known for writing his travelogues while he was globe-trotting his way through India and Persia. His journey to India was not a preplanned idea.

While he was on a diplomatic mission to Isfahan city in Persia, he separated from the group and decided to travel to India. Johan happened to reach India in the seventeenth century when the illustrious Mughal rule was still at its peak under the control of Shah Jahan. Mandelslo went to meet the relative of a man whom he had killed in Persia. Fearing retaliation, he cut his journey short and retreated to Lahore. Mandelslo was a lively and upbeat writer whose love for shooting animals (including snakes, buffalo, and monkeys) did not warm him to his Indian travelling companions.

Athanasius Nikitin also referred to as Afanasy Nikitin, was a profoundly religious man. He started his journey called the "Voyage Beyond Three Seas" in 1466. This adventurous journey took him to Azerbaijan, Baku, and Persia, finally leading him to India, a country that fascinated him the most. When he was in Hormuz in Persia of his time, Nikitin first heard about the richness and opulence of India. The products traded in India were not available in his own country. He found that horses were not available in India.

Therefore he took a horse and sailed to western India. The travelogue written by Nikitin gives us some vital clues about the Indian society that existed during the days of yore. Yet another thing is that it tells us about the fantastic 500-year-old relationship between India and Russia.

Thus the threads of these different travellers and their experiences on our lands have interwoven a colourful and opulent heritage that we drape our nation with. The pride we enjoy in our medieval heritage is also a gift from these travellers from different lands who have dyed it through their vision, like many others.