Hi Richard,
One very fundamental difference about the way the Westerners and the Indians look/looked on a sword is, that the Westerner regarded it as a sword only, maybe with a little bit of affection if someone in the family had used it, but to the Indians it was much more that that. The decoration also seems to have had a far deeper meaning that only the decoration – but I an digging into that at the moment, so when I know more I will write about it, although the informations are far apart.
When looking for Elgood's book, try ABE Books on the net, I think you will find a good buy in India.
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