India, Sri Lanka and the SAARC Region

This book examines the historical and socio-cultural connections across the SAARC region, with a special focus on the relationship between India and Sri Lanka. It investigates hitherto unexplored narratives of history, popular culture and intangible heritage in the region.

Lopamudra Maitra Bajpai is a visual anthropologist, author and international columnist. Her work focuses on the history, popular culture and intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of India and South Asia. She was recently deputed as Culture Specialist (Research) at the SAARC Cultural Centre, Colombo, Sri Lanka, and has also been Research Grant Fellow at the Indian High Commission, Sri Lanka. A former assistant professor from Symbiosis International University, Pune, India, she continues to teach at universities in India and abroad. She has represented India at various international conferences, especially concerning ICH. Her latest book, Stories of the Colonial Architecture: Kolkata-Colombo, was released at the Kolkata International Book Fair, 2019.

Part A: Lesser Known Aspects of Earliest Economic Ties across the Indian Subcontinent 1. India and Sri Lanka: Earliest trading connections till the colonial times 2. Bengal, Odisha, Maldives: The historical cowrie trading network and economic ties 3.Time, palate and history: Relations between Kerala and Sri Lanka Part B: Stories of Uncharted Routes of Communication Through History and Popular Culture across the SAARC region 4. Economic relations and popular culture: The ornate bulath bags from ancient Sri Lanka 5. The tradition of kantha embroidery: Connecting several parts of the SAARC region 6. Woven hues: Dry grass mats across the SAARC region 7. Condiments creating a lifestyle across the Indian subcontinent and beyond: The story of pickles, achars and chutneys 8. Tracing the beginning of colonialism in Sri Lanka: The almost forgotten proverb: Parangiya Kotte giya wage (How the Portuguese went to Kotte) 9. Beginning of Railways in British colonial Ceylon: The first railway station at Colombo Terminus 10. Prime days of coffee trade in British colonial Ceylon and the forgotten history of Kompannavidiya Railway Station 11. Colonial Ceylon and the lead in commercial ice manufacturing in South Asia: Charting a new lifestyle 12. The beginning of an organised communication system across the SAARC region: The 'Postal Runner' 13. Importance of telegraph and electricity in colonial Ceylon: Reconstructing the history of communication across Colombo Part C: Correspondence across Intangible Cultural Heritage: India, Sri Lanka and the SAARC Region 14. Celebrations of Vishwakarma puja: Mythology connecting the Indian subcontinent and beyond 15. Stories of the foolish Guru and his five disciples across the Indian subcontinent 16. Traditional narrative scrolls across the SAARC region: Art and reflections of cross-cultural communication 17. Melting pot of reflections on South Asian culture: Sri Lankan wooden dolls 18. Convergence of narrative and performing arts: Puppetry across the SAARC region 19. Visual storytelling: Myriad masked dances from across the SAARC region 20. Popular stories about court jesters across SAARC region: A strain of continuity through folklore Part D: Popular Culture Ties: India, Sri Lanka and the SAARC Region across the Last Century 21. Inspirational figures connecting the SAARC region: The very first attempts of women writing and publishing in English 22. Rabindranath Tagore's visit to Sri Lanka: The development of the faculties of art and aesthetics of Colombo University 23. Discussions and storytelling connecting two great storytellers: Satyajit Ray from Kolkata and Arthur C. Clarke from Colombo 24. International Mother Language Day: Expressions of peace and harmony 25. Ashok Kumar: A legend that continues to connect neighbouring countries across time