The tableau on the glory of ancient Nalanda

PATNA: The tableau on the glory of ancient Nalanda will be showcased on the historic Rajpath during the Republic Day parade this year. For the last three years, Bihar has not been represented in the R-Day parade. Bihar's resident commissioner in New Delhi C K Mishra told TOI over phone that the design work on the tableau, a depiction of the ancient ruins of Nalanda, is in progress. The tableau will also highlight its future plan to develop Nalanda as an international university. Bihar government has already been lobbying hard to include the ancient Nalanda ruins in the Unesco's list of World Heritage Sites. The ruins fulfil the eligibility criteria laid down by the UN body as they are of outstanding universal value and represent a masterpiece of man's creative genius. The ancient Nalanda varsity was spread over an area having a radius of about 16 km of which an area of only 1.6 km radius has been excavated so far. Nalanda was one of the most ancient international centres of education and learning — equivalent to modern universities — with a very rich library. It also preserves the evolving history of Buddhist theology, art and literature. It was, in fact, former president APJ Abdul Kalam's dream to develop the areas in and around the ancient centre of learning. The decision to conduct mapping and survey of the site was taken in view of president Kalam's vision to develop an international university at Nalanda on the pattern of the ancient university. Last year, Bihar government had sent three themes for selection as R-Day tableau. They were "Sher Shah Suri — The pride of Bihar", "Chhath festival — Worship of the Sun God" and "Rajgir — The historical and cultural heritage of Bihar". But the National Experts Committee of the R-Day parade did not select any of the themes. Mahasweta Maharathi, who has served as one of the members of the National Selection Committee of the R-Day Tableau Committee for eight consecutive years (1996-2004), feels: "Poor presentation could have been one of the reasons for rejection of any tableau." The tableau presented by the government of Bihar at the R-Day parade, 1989, entitled, "Shrameyva Jayate", sought to highlight the self-employment of women engaged in the production of handicrafts. "Though the tableau did not win any prize, it was neatly and aesthetically executed". The tableau on "Shrameyva Jayate" presented by the government of Bihar at the R-day parade, 1989, had created a history of sorts. The entire handicraft work of the tableau was done by craftsmen from Bihar. Some of the art pieces of the tableau are still the property of Delhi's famous Craft Museum.