'How India discovered Vasco Da Gama' by Historian Dr Sanjay Subrahmanyam

 

24:50 -- Indians did not record anything at the time about the Portuguese (Vasco da Gama's) arrival in Goa; a non-event. Later source descriptions:

• Tuhfat al-Mujahidin, very anti-Portuguese, tells how they stirred up commercial rivalry by breaching "Alexander's wall" between the west and India
• Fath al-Mubin, describes the Portuguese as ugly, unclean, ghoulish, deceitful.
• Syriac letter by the Syrian Christian bishops of Kerala
• Letters written (in Arabic) by people in Kerala, where you see people jockeying for connections and power

37:34 -- Alvaro Velho, written by someone on board Da Gama's ship, tells us about misunderstandings and exaggerations. For example, when the Portuguese are taken to a Hindu temple thinking it's a church. And outright lies, such as when VDG tells the ruler of Kerala that the Portuguese king is the richest in all of Europe (LOL!). Or when they say that they're here to find Christians, not gold (because they're already so rich).