LITTLE has been written in-depth about the Indian presence and influence in China — until now.

“Stray Birds on the Huangpu: A History of Indians in Shanghai,” an upcoming bilingual anthology tracing the history and capturing the present day of the Indian community, is attempting to address that issue.

The book’s co-editors,MishiSaran and DrZhangKe, have invited historians, authors and journalists from both countries to piece the forgotten puzzle together — from its origins to its whereabouts.

They have unearthed forgotten historic records, discovered important and fun incidents of this community, and delved deeper into how India’s future will develop in its neighboring country.

Saran, aHongKong-based author, has lived in Shanghai for several years and traced the footsteps of monkXuanzangin her book “Chasing the Monk’s Shadow: A Journey in the Footsteps ofXuanzang.” DrZhangis a professor of history atFudanUniversity.

“‘Stray Birds’ is a famous poem byRabindranathTagore, who visited Shanghai several times in the early years of the 20th century,” Saran says, explaining the book’s title.

“In the poem’s first stanza, there is a reference to stray birds of summer who come to a window, sing and fly away without leaving a trace. Its narrator asks the birds to‘leaveyour footprints in my words’,” she adds.

The two editors see the poem as a great metaphor for “much of the unrecorded history” they tackle in the book. “In our pages rest the‘footprints’ of those traceless Indians who came to Shanghai, sang their lives and left,” says Saran.

As the pieces in the book suggest, the bilateral trade goes as far as the 2rd century BC or earlier, while Indian traders started coming in crowds in the 18th century, first to Guangzhou and later mainly to Shanghai.

“There are remarkable similarities between past and present,” Saran explains. “The Indian community thenand now is diverse in religion and includes Muslims,Sindhisand Sikhs.Anecdotally, I would say that the Indians in Shanghai hail from all over India, whereas earlier, Indian settlers were often more likely to be from India’s west coast, the origin of the trading ships.”

Date: August 18, 2:30-3:30pm

Venue: Conference room No. 3, West Section, Shanghai Exhibition Center

Address: 1000Yan’an Rd M.