Yudhajit

That's nice to know that you are interested in Indian culture. You are right when you say that indian martial skills outdate written history. And for this reason it is very difficult to separate mythology from history. I train in Muay Thai, though it is Thailand's national sport, my instructor (the national coach of Muay Thai Federation of India) believes it owes its roots to India and dates back to the epic battle of Ramayana. An example he cites is the Hanuman punch. Hanuman is considered a god (westerners recognize him as the Monkey God) and worshiped across India. Do get in touch if you want to know anything specific about Indian culture, I would be too glad to help.

Hi Yudhajit,
Actually I'm not from India. I'm not even Asian. Go figure. I have however spent a fair bit of time studying various aspects of Indian culture and traveled around in India several times. I posted in that thread about Indian martial arts because most of it is so little known... that goes for much about India. In many ways it's off the radar of western people by and large. But it's an amazing place. Hopefully we'll get more views and insight into India and S. Asia here at MAP! :)

cheers,
Slip