With colleagues from the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, HMML established ties in 2008 with the ancient Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala in southwest coastal India, who trace their origins back to the earliest Christian era. Their tradition, rooted in the Syriac Christianity of Mesopotamia and incorporating elements of local culture, survived the arrival of Portuguese missionaries in the late 15th century. Archivist Reverend Father Ignatius Payyappilly of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, Kerala, led the field work beginning in 2008 which digitized paper and palm-leaf manuscripts written in Syriac, the local language of Malayalam, and Malayalam Garshuni (Malayalam written with Syriac alphabet). HMML’s latest project in northern India—the library of the Raja of Mahmudabad in Lucknow—is a collection of over 2,000 Persian manuscripts still held by the family. These collections in India illustrate the blending of imported religious and literary culture fused with local traditions. HMML is actively pursuing other projects in India and throughout South Asia.

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