By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : Vietnam – the bloody stage for a 30-year-war with France and then the US – was once home to a bustling Hindu settlement devoted to Shiva and Vishnu. Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, was the business hub of the South Indian Chettiyar community that set up money-lending businesses.
“The relation between India and Ho Chi Minh city dates back to more than two centuries when the Chettiyars, the trading community from south India, first came to the city to establish their money lending business.
“Subsequently, when they flourished, they entered the retail trade and formed a place for themselves in local society. They were followed by several other trading communities and religious groups from India,” writes veteran journalist, scholar and social activist Geetesh Sharma in his new book, “Traces of Indian Culture in Vietnam”.
Ties between India and Vietnam date back to more than 2,000 years when Hindu traders from the Bhagalpur region established the ancient Champa kingdom in central Vietnam, Sharma says.
The book, published by Banyan Tree Books Pvt Ltd, the English publishing wing of Rajkamal Publications, was released by ICCR president Karan Singh in the capital Wednesday.
The 77-year-old Kolkata-based writer, who has visited Vietnam 13 times, had been researching the historical ties between the two nations since 1982.
“Vietnam – once a household name in Kolkata made popular by Communist slogans such as ‘tomar naam, amar naam, Vietnam’ (your name, my name is Vietnam) – captured my imagination in the 1970s when I attended demonstrations against the Vietnam war in the city. I realised that Vietnam shared a lot with India – and Bengal,” the writer told IANS.
“The first lot of people who migrated to Vietnam during the first and fourth century AD were temple artisans and traders from Bihar, Bengal and Orissa. Hindu culture is still alive in Vietnam. Several communities of ethnic Cham people in the country speak a tongue that is a phonetic blend of Devanagari and Sanskrit. I also came upon a local theatre troupe which performs a version of Ramayana,” Sharma said.
The Vietnamese adaptation of Ramayana, ‘Ms Sita’, is woven around the lives of local prince Po Liem, a local version of king Rama and his wife Sita.
“The king dies and the crown is passed on to the king’s ex-wife’s son. Liem and Sita are forced to live in the forest. Demon Riep (Ravana) falls under the spell of Sita’s enchanting beauty and forces her to become his wife. Po Liem rescues Sita with the help of General Hanuman,” Sharma said, narrating the story.
But the Vietnamese Ramayana ends with a twist in the tale. Sita refuses to return to the palace with Rama and pledges that she would see him only in death. “She enters the imperial palace to die in Po Liem’s arms”.
Sharma has toured 17 ancient Hindu sites across Vietnam.
“Vietnam has at least 200 Hindu temples. Mysol, a Unesco World Heritage Site, alone had 40 temples before the Vietnam war; but bombings reduced their number to 20. The remaining temples have been restored,” he said.
Sharma also quotes new research to prove that Hindus had settled down along the banks of the Mekong river in southern Vietnam.
“It is an incontrovertible fact that by the time of the establishment of the Hindu Champa kingdom in central Vietnam, a large number of Brahmins, Kshatriyas and traders had settled down in southern parts of Vietnam.
“The Hindu caste hierarchy in Vietnam was free of Shudras. Recent excavations in a large area of the Mekong delta have unearthed relics of Hindu gods and goddesses – mostly Shivalingas and yonis,” he said.
Sharma said the Fu Nan dynasty, the ruling dynasty in the Mekong delta, was established by a Brahmin named Kaundinya from India.
“According to a Chinese version, Kaundinya, who came to Vietnam from India via Cambodia, married a local princess Nagi and founded the dynasty. Shiva commanded supreme obeisance among the Hindus followed by Vishnu and the Buddha. Subsequently, the Buddha replaced Shiva,” Sharma said.
(Madhusree Chatterjee can be contacted at [email protected])