Hesse's book has been translated into many Indian languages, including Tamil Image: Fondazione Hermann Hesse Montagnola The birth of 'Siddhartha' Hesse's family actually did have ties with India: His mother was born in South India during one of the missions of her father, Hermann Gundert, in Kerala. The Protestant Christian missionary not only learned the Malayalam language, but also wrote a dictionary and a book on Malayalam grammar. Despite his strictly Protestant upbringing in Calw in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany, India seemed to be a natural choice for him, explains German scholar Martin Kämpchen, who is currently based in Santiniketan, West Bengal, India and has written several books on Hesse and European Indologists. Like his protagonist Siddhartha, Hermann Hesse himself was on a spiritual quest when he traveled to India in 1911. "This was rooted in German Romanticism and the classical India of the 'Vedas' and Romantic Hinduism," says Jyoti Sabharwal, who teaches at the University of Delhi's Department of German Studies and has done extensive research on Hermann Hesse and his books. Like them, Hermann Hesse had an idealized image of ancient, spiritual India. Hesse's story about the Brahmin boy looking for salvation was based on a perception of India that was popular among Western scholars studying India at the time, known as Indologists. Hermann Hesse won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946 Image: Hermann Hesse-Editionsarchiv The idea of spiritual India Inspired by Buddha, who relinquished his kingdom, Siddhartha abandons his life of luxury and sets off with his best friend, Govinda, on a mission to find the meaning of life. Although the scriptures offer him explanations about the soul and its immortality, Siddhartha is keen on finding people who live this truth. Siddhartha, the story's protagonist, is born into a wealthy family of Hindu priests, or Brahmins. The novel by Hermann Hesse is set in 6th-century Kapilavastu (now in Nepal), the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama - better known as the Buddha. " Siddhartha" is the story of the spiritual journey of a young man, who shares his name with the Buddha.
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