Interface of India’s influence - II
Trade between India and South East Asia led to an exchange of cultures coming together
Each speaker challenged the characterization of SEA as "backward” and a passive recipient of civilizational inputs from India. The two days evaluated the impact of this interface on politics, societies and consciousness of the region. Four of five sessions had at least one Indian specialist, each of whom was articulate, precise and well versed in her expert subject.
The first session on day two was on "Sculpture, Painting and Iconography.” Dr Suchandra Ghosh of the University of Calcutta elaborated on similarities between clay molded tablets and miniature bronze statuettes as image worship played a pivotal role in spreading Buddhism. She specializes in early linkages between India and SEA, Buddhist clay sealings and the Bay of Bengal trade network. Images of Buddha grew and played multiple roles — bringing rain, warding off disease, offering protection and victory in war. The tablets from Nalanda have the Sanskrit ye dhamma (meaning of the Buddhist creed — things proceed with a cause) verse, linked to the ideology of "good rebirth.”
"The most common theme in Buddhist iconography is the seated Buddha in meditation but does not always have ye dhamma creed written,” she stated. Clay tablets of the ashtamahabodhisatva or eight bodhisatvas (enlightened beings) motif are represented in different art media in the Buddhist world found in Thailand, Malaysia and eastern India, conjecturing that the source could have been the University of Nalanda in Bihar. Ghosh proceeded to give a detailed description of the tablets and their artistry, leading to molded tablets with no complex imagery.
She also shared how tin and copper, which make bronze, are not found in eastern India and were imported from the Thai-Malay border, conclusively pointing to interactive trade. Similarly, the excavation of an early mid-10th century wrecked ship carrying metal molds and ritual utensils conclusively points to trade between Java and Bengal.
Nicolas Revire who is lecturer at Thammasat University and Thai Khadi Research Institute, Bangkok, pursuing his PhD at the Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris, was the next speaker. Revire made a study of Buddha icons in South and SEA, particularly the one in bhadrasana mudra (seated posture with both legs extended downward — pendant and feet firmly planted on the ground on a lotus pedestal) and the dharmachakra (turning the Wheel of Law) mudra with his hands at his chest. The wheel depicts the human cycle of rebirth. These icons that became the hallmark of the Ajanta-Ellora caves as also of Kanheri and other Deccan sites in Maharashtra spread to SEA, his research indicated.
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Prayer hall at Ajanta Cave (Number 29) Photo: Wikipedia
Dr R. Mahalakshmi, associate professor at the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi is currently immersed in the study of the Chola period in Sri Lanka (SL) as also engaged in the development of sacred geographies and landscapes in the Indian sub-continent. Her paper examined the significance of the purist brahminical imagery as symbols of victory and authority. Between the 6th-13th centuries, there was brahminical iconography in India which spilled over to SL and SEA because of its proximity to the south part of Tamil Nadu, she explained whilst further postulating that Shiva temples in SL accommodated forms of Shiva that were not typical in the Tamil region.
Seamless transitions
"Non-Indic Literature, Performing Arts and Lifestyle” was the subject of the fourth session when two speakers covered this topic: Dr Kenneth Hall, Professor of History at the Ball State University, Indiana, USA and Dr Susmita Basu Majumdar, associate professor with the Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta. Hall addressed Java’s 15th century adaptations of Indian religious and cultural traditions with heightened international maritime trade on both sides of the Indian Ocean.
Hall concluded that the Indian mythical Mt Meru which straddles the nether and heavenly worlds was localized in Java as the spiritual center. Another difference from India is the depiction of Lord Ganesha which in Java is shown seated in the lotus position, whilst in India Ganesha often sits with one leg dangling as the other is tucked underneath the opposite thigh. This is prohibited in Javanese culture.
The paper on "Metal Money in SEA: Exploring the Indian Connection” was delivered by Basu Majumdar. Among several languages she is also fluent in ancient Sanskrit and Prakrit. Published extensively, she addressed trade – mainly in spices, horses, silver, camphor and cowrie shells which were common currency, connecting people of SEA.
Majumdar noted that "camphor is not indigenous to India and comes from SEA. It is used for rituals, culinary and medicinal purposes and for transactions. Similarly, cinnamon and cassia were also used for trade exchange.” Horses were traded with Iran for tea from Assam. Other commodities traded were rice and cattle.
There seems to be no unanimous opinion on usage of coins, she said. She concluded that coins were probably used only for trade — Java used them in the 10th and 11th centuries whilst the rest of SEA had them from the 13th century. Coins with names of rulers are definite markers.
Weaving it together
The last working session was devoted to "Journeys through cotton and silk.” Dr Alexandra Green is the Henry Ginsburg Curator for Southern Asia at the British Museum. Having obtained her doctorate at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London on Buddhist Narrative in Burmese Murals, she delved into Indian trade textiles and Burmese wall painting through illustrations and detailed descriptions of these textiles. Textiles inside buildings were functional dividers and decorative, in red, yellow, black and white. The murals, she said, were a combination of narrative, iconic, floral and geometric imagery. The border motifs and ceiling designs were derived directly from Gujarat block-printed textiles.
Specializing in medieval Indian history with a thrust on maritime and urban economic history, Dr Radhika Seshan who is associate professor, University of Pune, as also a publisher, writer and researcher, narrated how "waterways bring people together, the Indian Ocean being no exception connecting east and west and some of the most populated regions.” It was from the early 20th century that the idea of "Indianization” was talked of.
Horses from Arabia, cloth from India and spices from SEA were the items of trade, she said. It is intriguing that master weaving occurred in cities in Bengal, Madurai in Tamil Nadu and the Coromandel coast where the cotton plant does not grow. Gujarat is the only exception where weaving and raw material are in proximity. In fact the scholar listed 57 varieties of cloth in medieval times. European records classify five broad varieties of weaving — white, plain dyes, striped, checked and chintz. Seshan detailed sub-castes of weavers in southern India — subdivided into weavers for temples and royalty; those who cured diseases and those who wove for death rites. White cloth was favored for burials and black for everyday use.
The professor ended her talk by stating that trade routes for cotton cloth were well known before the Europeans arrived. The Portuguese on landing in India attempted to change patterns of trade to maintain supremacy but the Asian merchants found alternative routes to bypass their control.
Sponsor Laura Dallapiccola sat through all the sessions on both days. The foundation established by her and her late musician husband Luigi supports SEA studies in which she has lasting scholarly interest, erudite enough to give the brief of all five sessions for the brochure. The Ministry of Culture, N. M. Wadia Charities, Friends of Khmer Culture and Pinaz Xerxes Master Foundation were other sponsors.
Dr A.(Eddy) S. Khambata, the well-traveled trustee of KRCOI (since demised), tendered his pictures of all his sojourns in SEA over the years, for the well-illustrated brochure. A past presenter at KRCOI, Devaki Dhuldhoya, continuing her ties, was the official photographer for the event.
The two days were very well time-managed. Some discourses were truncated, others halved to measure into the 45 minutes allotted to each speaker. The summation of both days was concise and relevant by Prof Vasudha Narayanan who delivered the valedictory address. She is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Religion, University of Florida with interest in Hindu traditions in India, Cambodia and America. She reiterated that SEA cultures had borrowed widely from India but adaptation was a must for cultural identity and assimilation into practices. Concluded