Information about the author:
Ranjana Banerjee
Ranjana Banerjee — Ph.D in Philology, Professor, Centre of Russian Studies, School of Language, Literature & Culture Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, 110067 New Delhi, India.
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3771-5192
E-mail:
Abstract:
References to India and Indian culture can be traced back in texts of Ancient Russia, translated as well as original. Ever since, India remained a topic of interest for the inhabitants of Russia. In Old Russian texts India is depicted as a wonderland, a land of wisdom and treasures. The first glimpse of real India was captured in the travel diary of a Russian merchant from Tver, Afanasy Nikitin. Gradually, the image of India unfolded in two different forms — romantic and real. Among the various romantic images, the image of White India (Spiritual India) is noteworthy. This unique image was created by the Russian writers and poets who tried to fall back on the spiritual heritage of Russia and the East (including India) during the turbulent years of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The article explores the image of White India in Russian literature, based on the poetic and prosaic works of Nikolay Klyuev, Sergey Esenin and Vsevolod Ivanov.
