Hi Richard,
I would like to welcome you to the forum as well! and its great to see interest in the weapons of India developing. As you can see by reading recent threads, there is a lot of interest, especially in tulwars, which are by far the most available weapons from India.
Jens has presented absolutely the most constructive advice, and I wholeheartedly agree with him! Learn to use the 'search' feature a great deal, as there have been countless discussions on these weapons here over the years.
It is probably best to go through reputable dealers in acquiring first weapons (contact me via PM and I can discuss), and as Jens has noted, visit museums if you have access. To identify Indian weapons specifically to certain region , especially tulwars, is extremely difficult, and as you have already noted, more likely to identify the period by the form of the sword components.
Read through the threads archived and make lots of notes!
We look forward to your questions! Be as specific as you can and just focus on a feature on a specific weapon at a time. Around here we all learn together, and we never stop learning!!!
Thats why we're here.
All the best,
Jim