Western sailors Eastern seas : German response to Indian culture

Western Sailors: Eastern Seas is a brief account of the cultural relationship between Germany and India. The subject is impor tant and difficult. It is important because it is one of the illumina ting chapters in the history of human understanding and because the discovery of ancient Indian wisdom by German scholars added a new dimension to disciplines of Linguistics, Religion and Mythology. It is difficult because like all human relationships, relations between nations are conditioned and shaped by national temperament and their sense of values. The present writer has only tried to outline the salient features of the history of the rela tionship between these two countries.

The sailors from Portugal, Holland, France and England came for material gains. They wanted a new territory for the extension of their trade and commerce and ultimately for their empire. Missionaries came to spread the Word. At last came the scholars to ship home the other treasures. British scholars were the first among their European counterparts to arrive in India and became pioneers in many fields of Indology. Many of them loved India. They translated the ancient texts, deciphered the language written in manuscripts and inscribed on the rocks. India remembers them with gratitude and respect. Germany had neither a colony in Indía nor had she any territorial interest in the country. Naturally the German scholars had to wait to arrive in the new field of Indo logy. Heine wrote that while other nations were interested in the gold of India the Germans had "all along been left to watch it. Today Schlegel, Bopp, Humboldt, Frank, etc. are our East Indian sailors. Bonn and Munich will be good factories." The Poet's hope was fulfilled. Though they were late the Germans gave a new direction to several disciplines when they discovered ancient India.