Interweaving Histories - Itineraries between Switzerland and India (1900–1950)

Abstract

By looking at the itineraries of specific individual Indian and Swiss actors going back and forth between India and Switzerland during the first half of twentieth century, the book explores the history of cultural relations between both countries. The itineraries studied here are those of Frieda Hauswirth, who searched for ways to contribute to the Indian freedom struggle; of Eva Lombard and Elisabeth Petitpierre, who went to India in order to practice medicine and save souls; of Jakob Urner, a missionary who developed an elective affinity for the Lingayat religious literature; of Selvaraj Yesudian, who teamed up with the esotericist Elisabeth Haich, and taught in Switzerland an idiosyncratic conception of yoga; and of Lizelle Reymond who published a widely read book recounting her encounter with the samkhya master Sri Anirvan.