PR 07

The High Commission of India is participating in the Deyata Kirula exhibition that has been mounted in Kandy from 4-10 February 2010 on the occasion of the Independence Day of Sri Lanka. One of the main features of Indian participation is a photographic exhibition of Buddhist Monuments and Art Heritage. The display consists of a selection of forty photographs from a collection titled “The Path of Compassion” by the famous Indian photographer, Binoy K. Behl. It covers many major Buddhist sites all over India and other Asian countries and provides a good perspective of the monuments and art heritage of Buddhism from the earliest times. The collection is a visual pilgrimage through many of the places associated with the life of the Buddha. Covering a wide range of the heritage of both Theravada and Mahayana-Vajrayana orders, the exhibition provides a view of the richness of the whole Buddhist tradition. It has travelled to various countries around the world and has also been held independently by institutions in India and other countries.

The photographer Binoy K. Behl is known for his pioneering low-light photography of ancient paintings, capturing their true and luminous colours more clearly than ever done before. He is also known for his extremely sensitive photography of Buddhist art which provides a deep insight into the gentle and compassionate message of the art.

Buddhist sculptures and paintings are among the gentlest and most sublime forms of art known to mankind. These are also the oldest surviving artifacts of the ancient historic period in the Indian subcontinent. Today, the art heritage of Buddhism flourishes in the whole of Asia. The strong Buddhist link between India and Sri Lanka is best symbolized by the fact that the sapling from the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya that was planted by Rev. Mahinda, the son of Emperor Ashok, is today the Sri Bodhi tree at Anuradhapura. And when the Great Bodhi at Bodh Gaya degenerated, it was a sapling from Anuradhapura that was used to regenerate it.

Colombo