Team retraces steps of first Russian to travel to India

MOSCOW: A 14-member Indian team will undertake a 12,000-km journey from Tver town to Panaji, retracing the footsteps of the first Russian to travel to India in the 15th century.

The 45-day expedition, led by experienced traveller Phalguni Matilal, will be flagged off at noon on Monday in Tver from the monument of Afanasy Nikitin, well-known local merchant and traveller who visited India in the 15th century and, in fact, discovered it for Russia.

The account of his travel Voyage Over the Three Seas is still a major historical source about India and the history of the Bahmani Kingdom. He had crossed six countries — modern Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iran and UAE before reaching India.

The expedition organised by “Adventurers & Explorers Society”, New Delhi, with the support of the Embassy of India in Moscow and Administration of Tver Region will travel through these countries and conclude its journey in Mumbai.

The team will make several stops in Russia and then carry on to Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Iran before reaching Mumbai by ferry. The voyage is expected to end on January 16,2007 in Panaji.