|
 |
 |
|
STEPHEN DUPONT/CONTACT PRESS IMAGES FOR TIME
|
RELATED STORY
INDIA: Misplaced Majesty
The history of the thriving Malabar coast's entrepots that so impressed Chinese adventurers has been all but scuttled by the tides of time
|
|
Calicut in India was a necessary port of call for traders and
adventurers alike. At the old spice market, a secret ritual was devised to allow
traders from all over the world to do business without having to learn
Malayalam, the local language. Still in practice today, buyer and seller clasp
right hands under a towel or handkerchief and, thus hidden, make offers and
counteroffers with a system of finger signals
|
|
|
|
|
INDIA
The grandeur of Cochin and Calicut has long disappeared
|
|
