Malabar coast: Trade systems in the early historic period
The proposed programme was mainly intended to collect literature on Indo-Roman trade, and to interact with experts in the UK and Europe in the field of early historic Indian ocean trade, to gain knowledge of the imported ceramics of the Roman period and Gulf region, and to get expertise in the newly emerging field of geo-archaeology. The research was carried out at the Centre of South East Asian Studies, the School of Oriental and African Studies, and various other institutions in the UK.
Coromandel trade
Along with the UK Visiting Fellowship this enabled me to collect data on the subject of the Coromandel English trade from UK institutions.
Study of Mediterranean pottery and other material relating to early trade in the Indian Ocean.
In my three month stay in the UK, I worked with Professor David Peacock and his team in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Southampton. We jointly wrote a paper on Mediterranean amphorae from Nevasa India. I produced a scond paper on " Impact of Indo-Roman trade of western India", which was published in the Journal of South Asian Studies of the British Academy. The award gave me the opportunity to initiate meaningful collaborations with scholars in the UK. I have delivered lectures at various institutes and academic gatherings in India and abroad.
Monsoons and the Maritime: Trade in India from an archaeological perspective
Before the discovery of the monsoon winds by Hippalus in AD 45–47, the mariners of the east coast of India were aware of the monsoon wind and currents and used them for maritime trade. The maritime trade from India to Southeast Asia was a seasonal phenomenon. The distribution of Buddhist settlements, discovery of varieties of pottery, beads and inscriptions along the ports and trade centres point to active maritime trade between India and Southeast Asia.
