Croatia - India
historical and cultural relations

Darko Zubrinic, 2020

It is interesting that the Dubrovnik merchants had their settlement in the city of Gvendolin in India in the 16th century, where they built the Church of St. Blase in 1653, which exists even today. In Goa in India there existed a strong Dubrovnik colony around the Church of St. Blase. In 1540 there arrived St. Francis Xaver on his mission to India, and later to Japan.
Source

Croatians at Goa in India

Ivana Brlić Mažuranić: Jaša Dalmatin, potkralj Gudžerata - tekst knjige
iz povijesne rasprave Vladimira Mažuranića: "Melek Jaša Dubrovčanin u Indiji"

Filip Vezdin (Wesdin) father of European Indology

Filip Vezdin, pioneer of European indology
For more information see Filip Vezdin (in Croatian)



Angjelko (Angelik) Juraj Bedenik (1808-1865), Capuchin Franciscan, Croatian missionary and vicar apostolic in Agra, India.
The above tablet was raised in the city of Koprivnica, where Bedenik was born. He died in Agra, India.

Many thanks to Ms. Snježana Božić for her information about the above tablet on the wall of the church of St. Nicholas the bishop in Koprivnica, Croatia.

Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) defended his patents in 24 countries. Two of his patents were defended in India in 1894.


Romain Rolland's monograph Mahatma Gandhi, published in 1924 in Paris,
was translated that same year into Croatian (sic!), upon the initative of Stjepan Radic (1871-1928),
entitled as Naš Gandhi (Our Gandhi).

The book was translated into Croatian by Josip Vandekar (1892-1927).
The title page was decorated by distinguished Croatian painter Marko Rašica (1883-1963), born in Dubrovnik.
It was reprinted in 2021 upon the intiative of Mr. Joginder Singh Nijjar (president of Croatian-Indian Society in Zagreb), containing an extensive foreword (more than 100 pp) written by Mislav Ježić  (of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts).

Joginder Singh Nijjar and Darko Žubrinić: Zaslov; Dva velikana nenasilnosti i mirotvorstva: Mahatma Gandhi i Stjepan Radić


Mahatma Gandhi and Kristian Kreković connecting India and Croatia


Mahatma Gandhi (a detail), portrayed by Kristian Kreković in 1936,
in his atelier in Paris, during Gandhi's mediatation; source www.kristiankrekovic.com


Stjepan Radić (1871-1928) i Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

Stjepan Radic with grandchildren
Stjepan Radiić with his grandchildren

Vladimir Paleček (1940-1990) Croatian humanist and founder of "Hungry Child" international fund in Croatia 1969


Vladimir Paleček handing over the keys of the ambulance car to Mother Teresa.
Father Ante Gabrić on the right. Both photos are taken at the Archbishopric building in Zagreb,
just by the Zagreb Cathedral (many thanks to Mr. Marijan Lipovac for recognizing the site).

Ante Gabric the Saint of Sundarban in India (4 web pages)

Fr. Ante Gabric, S.J. - An Apostle of the Sundarbans, Croatian missionary in Bengal, India

Mother Teresa and Croatians

Mother Teresa proclaimed a saint in 2016 and her connections with Croatia

Zvonimir Atletic photographs inspired by Mother Teresa

Zvonimir Atletic distinguished Croatian photographer

OZANA nonprofit organization for persons in need founded in 1991 in Croatia's capital Zagreb

A doll donated by Indira Gandhi to The King of Dolls (Ljeposlav Perinić) in 1968, representing an Indian bride from Madras. Another doll was donated by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, president of India, in 1965. Since 1991 the dolls are kept in the Ethnographic Museum, Zagreb.

Gift from Indira Gandhi, India



Miro Gavran, the greatest contemporary Croatian writer (translated into 41 languages, including three of India: Hindi, Kannada, Telugu):

Till 2020,  his theatre plays had 12 or 13 appearances in India (his dramas: Kad umire glumac, Sve o ženama, Muž moje žene, Noć bogova, Lutka, Zaboravi Hollywood), and two of his books have been published in Hindu (When an Actor Dies and The Doll | Kad umire glumac i Lutka), in Jaipur. His plays were shown su Puni, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad i Jaipur.


Element publishing company in Zagreb established by Professor Neven Elezović in 1990s jointly with his wife Silva (both of them are mathematicians), is issuing six scientific Math journals (see http://ele-math.com/), in which numerous mathematicians from India (23 of them!) serve as members of editorial boards. Here are their names (some of them are retired, or died):

Five mathematicians from India and two American-Canadian mathematicians born in India are memebers of JCA [Journal of Classical Analysis], in which Professors Elezović and Tibor Pogany, University of Rijeka, are editors-in-chief:

  • Vijay Gupta (also in JMI)
  • Prasanna Kumar
  • Vishnu Narayan Mishra
  • Ram. N. Mohapatra (now in Orlando, also with MIA)
  • Saminathan Ponnusamy
  • Girja S. Srivastava
  • Hari M. Srivastava, Victorija (JCA, JMI, FDC, MIA)  [a memeber of four editorial boards!]

Classical analysis is very strong in India. In other journals, there are additional 16 mathematicians of Indian origin:

  • Vasudeva Rao Allu (JMI - Journal of Mathematical Inequalities),
  • Mohammad Mursaleen (JMI),
  • Pankaj Jain (ex JMI),
  • Ravi P. Agarwal (MIA, now in Kingsville, USA),
  • Abdul Aziz (ex MIA - Mathematical Inequalities and Applications),
  • Rajendra Bhatia (ex MIA),
  • V. Lakshmikantham (late professor, University of Florida, ex MIA),
  • Baburao G. Pachpatte (late professor, ex MIA),
  • Ram U. Verma (Texas, ex MIA),
  • Gadadhar Misra (OaM - Operators and Matrices),
  • T.S.S.R.K. Rao (OaM),
  • Rajendra Bhatia (ex OaM),
  • Praveen Agarwal (DEA - Differential Equations and Applications),
  • Bapurao C. Dhage (DEA),
  • Varsha Daftardar-Gejji (ex FDC - Fractional Differential Calculus),
  • J. Vasundhara Devi (ex FDC)

And even more surprising is that for already five years (upon the initiative of Ivo Elezović, Neven's elder son), the Element Publishing Company in Zagreb has a fruitful collaboration with educational institutions in India, the result of which is that as many as 15 educational booklets are issued in Croatian language, printed in India, and authored by Indian specialists, intended for children of kindergarten and very early age.

Professor Elezović also wrote a nice article about Srinivasa Ramanujan on 7 pp. (published in 2007), intended for mathematically gifted children in Croatia. He served as a president of the State Committee for Math Competitions in Croatia.


Joseph George Hitrec (Josip Juraj Hitrec, 1912-1972) published his novel Sun of the Moon in 1948, which won Harper's Prize. Pearl Buck wrote that it is an "outstanding novel" by the author who knows and loves India. Joseph Hitrec wrote for the Saturday Review and the New York Times. A photo is preserved from India, representing Hitrec with a private secretary of a Maharaja in India, with a huge elephant behind them; see Vladimir Novak, Croatians in America, Zagreb 1919, p. 63.



Joseph Hitrec in India. Source Vladimir Novak, Croatians in America, Zagreb 2019, p. 63.

Joseph George Hitrec. Photo by Getty Images.

In Vladimir Paleček's photomonograph War on Hunger, we can find find numerous examples of humanitarian aid of the Hungry Child association (Zagreb) to Bangladesh (see [Paleček, pp. 139-140, 169-172, 193-195, 221-223, 240-241, 356]), with transportation secured among others by Air India; see [Paleček, p. 372]. A citation of Indira Gandhi appears in [Paleček, p. 177].


U Napretkovom kulturnom centru obilježena 150. obljetnica rođenja Stjepana Radića i Mahatma Gandhija


Tomislav Sikic delivered a lecture about Srinivasa Ramanujan a famous Indian mathematician



Monument of Mahatma Gandhi in Zagreb, park Bundek



Croatian and Indian cultural contacts through history

Croatian Glagolitic priests were translating the novel about Alexander the Great (including a description of his voyage to India), known as Alexandrida, already in the 13th century.

Especially important is the Petris Miscellany dating from 1468, written in Croatian Glagolitic Script, and kept in the National and University Library in Zagreb. It contains a Lucidarium - a Middle Age Encyclopedia written in the form of questions (of a student) and answers (of a teacher), in which India is also described: "A student asks: which land is closest to Eden? And the teacher said: ... Nobody can arrive there due to enormous mountains, and there are huge snakes. There is a land called India. And its name stems from the river named Indus... And in other (parts of) India there are people called Makkobi, that are 12 ells tall...". This text is also preserved in the Žgombić Glagolitic Miscellany.


Petrisov zbornik iz 1468., vrhunski je spomenik hrvatske pisane kulture. Naziv je dobio prema jednom od vlasnika iz 19. st., Petrisu s otoka Krka. Čuva se u Nacionalnoj i sveučilišnoj knjižnici (NSK) u Zagrebu.


Indija
(India, written in Croatian Glagolitic quickscript in the Petris Miscellany from 1468, on p. 198a)


Indus
(Ind river, written in Croatian Glagolitic quickscript in the Petris Miscellany from 1468, on p. 198a)

p. 198a of the Petris Miscellany from 1468:


Mlai reče: Ka zemlja naib-
liže jest raju? Moistar reče: "Tako nam kni-
ge govore Svetago Pisma, da tamo nigdor
nemore priti. Jere jesu okolu prvelike gori
i v nih leže preljuti yveri i prstrašne zm
zmije i te brane tam priti. I poli tog
leži jedna zemla imenem Indija. I ta sje

p. 198b of the Petris Miscellany from 1468:



zove tim imenem pred noi vodi ka se zove Indus.
I ta rika tečet iz jedne gore ka ri...olus i teče v
...vleno more. I tu jest teško priti zač est od jedne
strane Indus reka i est tuliko veliko velika i od
...u nje tuliko pustine da edva gdo more v trih
...h tamo priti ali videti. (F) Sija zemla
est tuliko široka da est v nei velikih pogla-
vnih kralevstvi 30 i 4. I v nei esu ljudi
različni. Edni su takmo 2 lakta visoke i ti
ljudi vojuju proti nam. I v toi zemli est 2 oto-
ka Kriša i Gliris i v teju est mnogo zlata. I es
ta krik vsvego leta zelena. I to est va vsakom
našem leti i ne dve lete. I poli toga esu zla-
te gore i toga zlata nemore dobiti nigdore skozi
velike zmie ke vu nih gorah leže. I meju tu goru ka
imenuet se Kaspius i meju morem i tu est kral Aleksan-
dar dvoe ljudi zatvoril. Nih ime est Gog i Magog.
I ti ljudi s nogo ne jidu nere sirovo meso. Jesu
v drugoi zemli Indii ljudi ki se zovu Manakobi.
I ti ljudi jesu 12 lakt visoki. I esu napr-
ed kako lav i perje imaju i parakle kako kajna.

...

  Twomore pages (p. 199a) deal with India (written by a different hand), where the "third India" is described, starting from line 8.

p. 199a of the Petris Miscellany (1468):

e prijatele prizivaju i š nimi se snedaju i tako se vje...-
le obnih. I poli toga leži edna zemla vkoi raste
prpar. I ta zemla est plna zmii i gadi. I kada t
prpar bude zrela, tada stvore ti ljudi velike kra
ogna i požare velike. I tako otpodje one zmie i potom z-
beru prpar i ot toga požara očrne prpar. A od nature e
bjel. I oni ljudi ki ga zbiraju bivaju živi nere do
osam ljet a do trih ljet ljet imaju. V tretoi In-
dii esu ljudi ki imaju pete naprijed a prsti nazad.
A v rukah imaju po osam prstov i v nogah. I ti ljudi
imaju na se glavi a odjevaju se lisičimi repi.
I kada hote govoriti tada viju glavami kako ps-
i. I potli toga esu ljudi ki su iz mlada sedi, a k s-
tarosti su črni. I potom esu ini ljudi ki imaju lje-
dnu nogu i ti brzo teku kako ptaci kada leti. I kad-
a na slnci sjede tada čine sen nad sobu od noge..
I takoi esu edni ki imaju edan rog vaski ih na svo-
em čele i pod tem rogom edno oko. Mlai reče: bivaju
li ti ljudi na vkup da se ne pobiuju? Moistr reče: Bog
tako te ljudi est razdelil da se s nimi na kup ne
mogu ni se boriti mogu a to est da su meju nimi vel-
ike vode i velike gore v kih esu preveliki i stra-
šni zveri i preljute zmie. Mlai reče: kako to more
biti vede nam tako knige svedoče da smo vs-
i ot ednoga človeka početi to est ot Adama? Kako su ti lju-
di na takove parti razdeleni? I tako nepodebne

p. 199b of the Petris Miscellany (1468):

obraze imaju. Moistr reče: Adam  est bil naimudrei
nere e bil ni edan človek na svete. Razve mudroga
Solomona. I kada be Adam iz raja izagnan, tad-
a on znaše vseh zledi korenija i nih zale natu-
re i bješe edno zele takovo da gda bi ga bila ž-
ena okosila tude bi bila primenila plod nee
tela nature. I tada Adam ukaza svoim hćeram
nejesti toga zele. I vino ta edna hći Ada-
mla nebudući mudra. Da norica i poče je sti.
Ot tjeh koreni zelija itudi je da se premeni natur-
a ne ploda. I to be v toi zemli ka se zove Indija.
I v toi zemi est edno zvere ko se zove gila.
I to zvere est napred kako lav a nazad est kako ve-
lblud [=deva, verbljud], tre [ter] ima 2 roga na glave svoei. I est vsa-
ki 2 laktadlg. I kada se zdrugim svadi ta-
da ta edan rog vrže v dile na hrbat a drugi-
m se brani i siječe. I kada mu bude trudan ta rog tad-
aga vrže na hrbat a on dvignet ki e čil i opet se
nim rie. I to zvere se neboi nikogare razve ča e črno
a močno est kako na zemli tako va vode. I ošče est v toi zem-
li edan zer ki se zove manastarijus. Ima gla-
vu kako človek a telo kako ona a rep kako svina. Ima edan ro-
g na čele, 4 noge dlg i est svetal kako drag-
i kamen ki latinski zovet se karbonkulus i est
oštr kako britva. I ta zver est tuliko ljut ča koli
pred sebu utakne to vse rogom ubija. Is te zemle

p. 200a of the Petris Miscellany (1468):


Indija
(India, written in Croatian Glagolitic quickscript in the Petris Miscellany from 1468, on p. 200a)

prihodi edan kamen ki se zove jambar ki sebe vle-
če železo. Mlai reče: Jutr jesi mi mnogo povedal o b(oga)toi
zemli ka se zove Indija. Da povei mi ob toi zemli ka se
zove Partija. Moistr reče: Partija, se počne pri toi re-
ce ka se zove Tigra. I v toi zemli leži edan grad
ki se zove Persida. I tom gradu počeše naiprvo čari
biti is te zemle prihodi edan kamen ki žge kako kopri-
va. I ošće est v toi zemli edan kamen ki v noći sveti
kako oganj. I govori se latinski silous. I toga kamena
pribiva i upada kako meseca. Mlai reče: povei mi ob
toi zemli ka se zvoe Mespotamija. Moistr reče: Meso-
potamija zovet se po dveju reku ka tečeta [dvojina!] skoze to ze-
mlju. I v toi zemli leži edan grad ki se zove Nonive,
a to est Nevonnit. I ta grad est toliko širok koiko i dlg
i est tuliko dlg ča more človek tri dni preiti prek nega.
I v toi zemli est Babilon, i toga grada est zid
širok 50 lakat a dveste lakat est visok.  I est
ta grad 60 mil širok vprek ili vdile ima sto vra-
t mjedenih. I v toi zemli est edna vlast imenem Ara-
bija i ot tude prihodi Tamen Imiro. I v toi zemli est
edna gora ka se zove Oreb. Na toi gore Bog da Moiseju
zakon. I potom leži edna zemla ka se zove Surija. I v to-
i zemli est edan grad imenem Damask. I ta grad
postavi kral Avraam. I poli toga leži edna go-
ra imenem Libanos. I pri toi gore Jardan ki s-
e počene vtoi zemli vkoi est Erusolim. I ta grad est us-

...

So, India is described in a little bit more than 3 pages of the Petris Miscellany.
Many thanks to the National and university Library, Zagreb, and to the creators of the glagoljica.hr portal.




The Legend about Thomas the Apostle, handwritten in Croatian Church-Slavonic language, appears in the Second Novi Breviary completed in 1495 (on f. 391 v). The mentioned legend is also kept in other Croatian Glagolitic breviaries.

Two manuscripts containing travels of Juraj Hus (Croatian from Rasinje near Koprivnica, captured by the Turks) in 1530s, participated on the side of the Ottman Empire in the military campain against the then Portugese port and fortress of Div in India. After many years, he managed to escape across Palestine and Egypt to his homeland Croatia.

In the testament of captain Vice Bune (Vicentio Buneo), written in the Naples and kept in the Dubrovnik Archives in Croatia, we can see that he left twenty Indian shirts ("vinti camisce dell'India") to his servant. He was also present in Goa in India, since he wrote in his testament: "nell'India nella citta di Ghoa ducati sei milla in circa di capitale con l'interesse di quindici anni".

India is mentioned by old Croatian Renaissance writers in Dubrovnik like Mavro Vetranović (1482-1576; Trgovci Armeni i Indijani) and Ivan Gundulić (1589-1638; Suze sina razmetnoga).

Libro od mnozijeh razloga, a book written in Croatian Cyrillic in the city of Dubrovnik (Ragusa), contains a legend about the Apostle Thomas, who was a Christian missionary in India. The book is kept in the National and University Library in Zagreb.

According to André Vaillant, distinguished French scholar, a prologue to "Dundo Maroje" by Marin Držić (1508-1567, a distinguished Dubrovnik Renaissance writer and litarary predecessor of Shakespeare and Moliére), was inspired by "A Word about Indian Empire".

National and University Library in Croatian capital Zagreb is in possession of a description of events from the life of Alexander the Great in India, written in Dubrovnik in Croatian Cyrillic. It is kept in the Collection of Ljudevit Gaj.

There is also a chakavian variant of Alexandrida, also written in Croatian Cyrillic, kept in the Lobokowitz collection in Roudnica in the Czech Republic. (Recall that chakavian is one of three major Croatian dialects, besides kajkavian and shtokavian.)

Marko Marulic (1450-1524), born in the city of Split, distinguished Croatian Renaissance spiritual writer, exploited motives from the Indian legend of Barlaam and Josaphat (= Budha) and from other Indian stories. It was included in his "De Institutione Beatque Vivendi", published in Antwerp in 1584.

When St. Franics of Xavier went to his mission in India, he brought with him only the following two books: the Bible and the above mentioned book by Marko Marulic. In the city of Zagreb, a short prayer was published in Croatian language: "A prayer to St. Francis Xavier, a great Indian apostle" (Molitva k s. ocu Ferencu Ksaverijušu, velikom indijanskom apoštolu). On the title page, there is saint's large photo accompanied with the following dedication: "To Saint Francis Xavier and his glory, to who Zagreb is deeply obliged" ("Svetomu Ferencu Ksavriju na diku komu je Zagreb dužen zahvalnost veliku").

The story of Barlaam and Josaphat and other Indian stories appear also in the works of a number of Croatian writers:

  • Juraj Habdelić: Zrcalo Marijansko, Graz 1662, p. 33,
  • Juraj Habdelić: Prvi oca našega greh, Graz 1674, p. 124,
  • Petar Macukat: Život sv. Jezafata obraćen od Barlaama, Venecija 1798,
  • Stefan Zagrebec: Hrana duhovna, Zagreb 1723, p. 492,
  • Stefan Fuček: Historije s kratkem duhovnem razgovorom od poslednjeh dugovanj, Zagreb 1753, pp. 116-117.
  • Matija Antun Relković: Ćudoredne pripovidke Pilpaj-Bramine indijanskog mudroznanca iliti vladanje velikih i malih (prevedeno s francuskog), Vinkovci, handwritten in 1767, printed in 1875,
  • Petar Budmani: Pet pripovijedaka (Five Stories, translated from Sanskrit), Dubrovnik 1867.

There is also an Alexandrida kept in the famous Croatian noble family of Zrinski, describing the life of Alexander the Great in India. It was trancribed in 1622 by Ivan Derečka from an earlier chakavian version. It belonged to the library of a poet and Ban (= Croatian Viceroy) Nikola Zrinski, who was a grandson of the legendary Nikola Zrinski of Siget (who tragically died in 1566).

Innocentius a S. Leopoldo, barefoot Carmelitan, was the sixth bishop of the Moghul Empire. He died in Malabhar in 1735 and originates "ex illustri de Kollonitz familia". His roots are from Croatia, from the noble family of Kolonić (Kollonitz).

Filip Vezdin, a pioneer of European indology

Antun Mihanović (1796-1861) is best known as the author of verses of the Croatian Anthem - "Our Beautiful Homeland" (Lijepa naša domovino). He learned Sanskrit by reading the books of  Filip Vezdin, as well of the earliest English indologists. He was among the first ones to have noticed that Sanskrit is genetically related to Slavic languages, and published it in his study

Antun Mihanović: Zusammenstellung von 200 Laut- und Sinnerwandten Wörtern des Sanskrites und Slawischen, Wien (Vienna) 1823.



Josip Marić (1807-1883)

Josef Marić (1807-1883) wrote his book "Indijski mudroznanec ili način kak človek vu društvu ljudeh srečen biti more" (i.e., "An Indian Sage, or How a Man can be Happy among People") was published in Zagreb in 1833. Even earlier, in 1825, the text of almost identical title, "Indijanski mudroznanec" ("An Indian Sage") was published in Budim, within the book "Primudroga batona ćudoredni nauki... što ga je izdao po drugi put fra Marijan Jaić." See Fr. Maxner in Rad 74, p. 123.

The works of Rabindranath Tagore were published in Croatia since 1914, just a year after he received the Noble Prize for literature. His Gitanjali was translated by Pavao Vuk Pavlović and published as a series of seven articles in "Jutarnji list" (Morning News) in Zagreb. The same year, Croatian translation of Tagore's Gitanjali was published in the book form. That same year of 1914, the Gitanjali was published in German, French, Dutch, Italian, Russian, and Czech, and the preceding year i Swedish and Danish.

In 1926, Rabindranath Tagore visited Croatia's capital Zagreb, where he spent two days. He was a guest of the Zagreb Radio, where he delivered three lectures: one about India, and two about Mahatma Gandhi. His Chitra was translated into Croatian by Pavao Vuk Pavlović, and emited on 26th May 1926 by the Zagreb Radio. It seems to have been the first case of presenting a Tagore drama via radio.

Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić, a famous Croatian writer (especially for children), wrote her book dealing with India, "Jaša Dalmatin, potkralj Gudžerata", published in Zagreb in 1937. The book is based on an article by her father, entitled "Melek Jaša Dubročanin u Indiji god. 1480-1528", in which he conludes that Melek Jaša, or Malik Ayaz, an important figure of the history of India in the turn of 15th to 16th centuries, viceroy of Gudjarat and governer of Indian port Div, could have his origins from the environs of Dubrovnik. We know of  Croatian people on Egyptian vessles which between 1507 and 1509, and then again in 1538, were near the port of Div. On a ship captured by Portugese in 1509, they found books written "in lingua Dalmatica". Among their enemies in India, the Portugese encountered canon founders from "Esclvonia" and settlers from "European Turkey", which were able to recite Italian verses.

Katarina Livljanić, distinguished Croatian expert in Medieval Music (lecturing at the University of Sorbonne in Paris, born in the city of Zadar, Croatia), created several music transcriptions based on old Croatian Glagolitic texts (mainly from the Petris Glagolitic Miscellany from 1468), kept in the National and University Library in Zagreb, which include the Indian story of Barlaam and Josaphat. They were publicly performed between 2010 and 2020, including in Zagreb.


'Barlaam & Josaphat: Buddha–a Christian Saint?' by Dialogos and Katarina Livljanić

(From the description of the above video)

Could you ever imagine that one of the most popular saints in the Christian calendar of the Middle Ages was - Buddha? After ten years of research in a multitude of libraries worldwide, Katarina Livljanić and the ensemble Dialogos, faithfull to their exploratory and fearless spirit, bring yet another surprise from the less known medieval lands, after its award-winning albums such as Dalmatica: Chants of the Adriatic (A395), Lombards & Barbares (A319), La vision de Tondal (A329), Judith: A Biblical Story from Renaissance Croatia (Alpha702). It is the incredible story of saints Barlaam and Josaphat, a christianized version of Buddha's life, which crossed over at least four religions and was transmitted through almost all the medieval languages. Powerful songs - incarnated by voice and instruments, sing the legend about the king's son, prince Josaphat, who leaves the noisy world of opulence to search for inner peace - songs which follow the path of his story from one medieval language to another, from Greek, Latin to Old Croatian, Italian, Church Slavonic…

This project is a unique new experience: a multimedia ebook, in French and English, is included in this CD. It tells the story of Barlaam & Josaphat and leads the listener/reader through one of the most intriguing labyrinths of medieval world. Through a rich and original video, audio and iconographic material, it opens the doors into the artistic creative process which transformed a medieval legend into a music performance.


Sources
  • Ivan Andrijanić (ed.): India - Croatia, Thirty Chapters for Thirty Years of Diplomatic Relations 1992-2022, to appear
  • Petris Miscellany dating from 1468
  • Vesna Badurina Stipčević (ed.): Hrvatska srednjovjekovna proza I. Legende i romani (Croatian medieval prose I. Legends and novels.), Stoljeća hrvatske književnosti, knj. 115, Zagreb, Matica hrvatska, 2013, 416 str. (prikaz)
  • Marija-Ana Dürrigl: Hrvatska srednjovjekovna proza II. Apokrifi, vizije, prenja, Marijini mirakuli. Stoljeća hrvatske književnosti, sv. 116. Priredila i transkribirala Marija-Ana DÜRRIGL. Matica hrvatska, Zagreb 2013., 357 str. (prikaz)
  • Vesna Badurina Stipčević: Glagoljski Žgombićev zbornik kao književni izvor, Kolo Matice hrvatske, 2, Zagreb, 2015.
  • Jugoslaveni i Indija, Zagreb 1965. This is a catalogue of an exhibition in Zagreb, 1965, Opatička 18, with a Foreword by Radoslav Katičić, distinguished Croatian linguist and indologist.





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