A thousand years ago, India was very different from what it is today. North India had yet to face significant conquest by Muslim warlords from Central Asia. Sailors travelled from India's coast to South East Asia taking advantage of the summer monsoon winds. When the winds reversed in winter, they returned home to Indian shores. These travels began many centuries earlier, perhaps as early as the time of the Buddha, 2,500 years ago, starting from Odisha and Bengal, and spreading to Tamil Nadu, peaking at the time of the Chola kings in 10th century CE.

Illustration/Devdutt Pattanaik