ABSTRACT
‘On the morning of April 20, 1857, the lighthouse guard at Diamond Harbour signalled that a small boat had sailed into the Hugly during the night, without requesting the help of a pilot.’ As the small praho sidles noiselessly upstream with its crew of bold Malayan pirates, Emilio Salgari’s Le due tigri (1904) begins to unfold a tale of adventure, mystery, exoticism and struggle that has held captive the imagination of generations of Italian youths (myself enthusiastically included!), and contributed to a lasting perception of, and fascination for, India’s image in Italian culture. 1
