Re: [Assam] Some Assam rare book/map

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 05:19:25 -0800

Hello Ramda,

Thank you for giving me an opportunity to sound off on my hobby horse - history of SE Asia. You mentioned ...."there seems to be a lot of influence."

There were a lot of influences but most went one way - from India to China via Buddhist Scholars or via South East Asia. It is not widely known that for over a 1000 years Sanskrit and Indian culture was widely embraced in South East Asia in a manner very reminiscent of the enthusiasm for Americana that has captured the whole world now. In that advance too the primary motives were growth of profits through trade, and a sense that the globally connected and laissez-faire culture that came with the foreigners was going to raise the standard of life of all who adopted it. Just as there was no military to reinforce the advance of Microsoft, Mickey Mouse or Michael Jackson, so too was the spread of Indianisation. There has been little sense that the advance had been planned or co-ordinated by political powers in the center of innovation, whether in India then, or in the USA now. And the linguistic effects are similar too: Sanskrit, like English now, had advanced as a lingua franca for trade, international business and cultural promotion. [ Nicholas Ostler's Empires of the World - A language history of the world has a full treatment on the spread and influence of Sanskrit in the first millenium]

India can take the credit too for the spread of Islam in Indonesia and Malaya since it was the Gujrati merchants who were responsible for converting the Acehnese.

best regards

Rajiv



[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, assam@assamnet.org
Subject: Re: [Assam] Some Assam rare book/map


This is very interesting.  Browsing thru any of the "Chinese" supermarkets in the US,  you come across "Leeche". We say "lechu". Don't which came from which, but it does seem there was a lot of influences.
 
--Ram
 
On 2/22/07, Rajiv Baruah <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

Folks,

A small correction about scripts in South East Asia and in India. In Ashoka's time, there were about nine scripts in South East Asia, Indonesia and the Philippines, that were derived from Indian scripts, many thorugh the Pallava script. These SE Asian scripts are Burmese, Lao, Thai,Khmer, Javanese, Balinese, Tagalog (Philippines), Batak ( Sumatra) and Bugis ( Sulawesi). Incidentally, in the Cambodian pillars that carry rules for monastries, Sanskrit in Khmer script one one side is paralleled by Sanskrit in a North Indian script on the other.

Interestingly, Sumatra is derived from Samudra, Malaya from a Dravidian word Malai - a hill, Java from Yava - dwipa, Cambodia from Kambuja, Irrawaddy from Iravati ( means - having drinking water, the old name of Ravi river in the Punjab). And so on.....

Also wonder if anyone knows that the Tibetan script too is derived from Brahmi.

From what I have seen of Korean, it is definately Chinese in origin and inspiration. The difference is that the Korean have taken the Chinese pictograms and converted them into a phonetic alphabet, just as the Japanese have done to produce the Japanese "kana".

best regards

Rajiv 

 

 




------ Original Message ------
Received: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 11:16:54 AM SGT
From: "Rajen & Ajanta Barua" < [EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Ram Sarangapani" < [EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "Barua, Rajen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: assam@assamnet.org
Subject: Re: [Assam] Some Assam rare book/map


That is becaue at one time, the Indian culture propogated to almost all the Southeast countries. Buddhism on one hand and Brahminism alongwith the story of Ramayana propogated to all these countries. Along came the writing and the Devanagari script. In fact the alphabets all these Southeast Asian countries, are based on Devanagari script.  Even the Korean language alphabet is based on Devanagari script. BTW there is a version of the Ramayana in all these countries. The bottomline is, all these countires picked up a huge number of Sanskrit words. Thus Rama, Krishna, Arjuna, Hanuman names are very common on most of these countries. Indonesia's one offshore platform is named Arjuana Platform. The capital of Thailand is named Ayudhya, to cite just a few examples.
I think if one explore, one wil find many Sanskrit words, besides Bhumiputra, in many of these countries.
etc
 
Rajen  Braua
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 12:34 PM
Subject: Re: [Assam] Some Assam rare book/map

 
>If you notice, all the names of rivers in Assam are mostly Boro words. I think >Brahmaputra is the only one which was successfully Sanskritised.
 
That is very interesting.
BTW - I came across the word "Bhumiputera" in Thailand.
And it means exactly like that - Sons of Soil.
 
Thanks
 
--Ram


On 2/20/07, Barua, Rajen <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > wrote:
The word Brahmaputra was spelled various ways by the Europeans before. They used phonetic spelling the way they heard local people pronounce it. I have seen spelling as 'Baramputor' and various others. The spelling 'Brahmaputra" is rather a modern spelling to match the Sanskrit word. BTW Brahmaputra as well as the Luhit are Sanskritised words. Originally It had Boro name which is similar to the word Luit (which I forgot at this time).
 
If you notice, all the names of rivers in Assam are mostly Boro words. I think Brahmaputra is the only one which was successfully Sanskritised.
 
Barua

From: Ram Sarangapani [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 11:36 AM
To: Barua, Rajen
Subject: Re: [Assam] Some Assam rare book/map

 
You are welcome.
 
BTW: Was Brahmaputra spelt like "Bramapootra" before? Did the spelling change after independence?
 
And where exactly did Lohit start and Brahmaputra finish?
Did you see Sadiya (Xadiya) is also spelt different
 
--Ram


 
On 2/20/07, Barua, Rajen <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > wrote:
Thanks Ram for the information.
I heard about the book but did not know it is available.
Barua
 

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of Ram Sarangapani
Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 10:10 PM
To: Assamnet
Subject: [Assam] Some Assam rare book/map

 
For those interested in this kind of stuff:
 
I came across this rare book on Assam on eBay. Being rare, the book is quite expensive $1100.
 
What was more interesting was that the way the authors spelt "Bramapootra River"
The modern spelling obviously changed somewhere along the line.
If you look at the accompanying map (all Copyrights belong to the authors/publishers) closely, you will notice "Lohit",  and "Bramapootra" & "Assam"
 
I couldn't make out the spellings of other areas -its a bit fuzzy.
Anyway, I thought readers may find it interesting. See attached maps/photos/links
 
The Mishmee hills: an Account of a Journey made in an Attempt to Penetrate Thibet from Assam to open new Routes for Commerce.
Publisher: London: Henry S. King & Co., 1873.   Very Rare First Edition

Notes: Account of a journey made in 1869"(Yakushi C344) from Sudiya in Assam via Brahmakund to Prun on the Bramapootra River.
 
1873 Cooper MISHMEE HILLS Tibet - RARE FIRST EDITION
 
--Ram
 
 

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