A tale of two countries, its peoples and connections that bind them

Staff Reporter

Muscat, Sept 21

Across Sea and Space is a chronicle of millennia-old ties between Oman and India as well as the narratives of peoples of these two countries. The Oman-India relations have roots in the Bronze Age. At that time, Oman’s first recorded civilisation, Majan, had established sea borne trade with the Indus Valley civilisation. Archaeological evidence in the eastern province of Oman, such as Ras al Jinz and Ras al Hadd, found archaeological items such as Harappan pottery, shards, objects associated with ornamentation, besides stamp seals with iconography that is, no doubt, associated with the ancient Harappan civilisation.

The book written by Samuel Kutty (Senior Editor of the Observer) and Sandhya Rao Mehta (Associate Professor of SQU) is a celebration of the close ties of India with Oman, going back to the prehistoric past, enriched in the present with ties which are strategic, economic and scientific, but also familial, educational and cultural. While the civilisational ties between India and Oman can be ascribed to historical maritime trade linkages, it has been sustained through the millennia with close contact and travel, linking the two countries through the soft power of cultural exchanges and cemented by official pacts on trade and a variety of avenues of mutual interest, including defence, health, technology and education. Facilitated by physical proximity and long standing cultural ties, India and Oman share a deep cultural and commercial geography which has also led to influences in popular culture as well as literary and linguistic heritage. This book sketches this dynamic relationship, from its rich historic past to the multifaceted one it is today. It focuses on prehistorical relations between the two neighbours, separated, or united, by the Arabian Sea, tracing ties throughout history. It also details economic, social, cultural and educational ties. This book also outlines the various official ties between the two governments, outlining memoranda of understanding, bilateral trade, defence agreements, strategic partnership pacts and investments in both countries. While outlining the Oman-India relationship in all its facets, this book also points to future possibilities which will ensure the continuity of meaningful ties between the two partners.

The book incorporates original photographs from a range of individuals and institutions, including The National Museum, Oman, the National Museum of India, the National Archives, Delhi, the Indian Embassy in Muscat, the Indian Social Club, the historical Indian community in Oman, as well as from individuals, including photographers and painters.

The book will be launched officially later this month.