In a bid to mark the ‘Buddha Rashmi’ National Vesak Festival at Seemamalakaya, Gangaramaya Temple of Colombo, the Indian High Commission in Colombo presented a special exhibition highlighting, which represented India’s rich Buddhist heritage and culture.
On May 3, following the inauguration of the Vesak celebration, President of Sri Lanka,Ranil Wickremesinghe attended the exhibition alongside Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay, senior ministries, and other dignitaries.
The Presidential Secretariat, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Gangaramaya Temple collaborate to arrange the Vesak festival.
As the officials noted, the exhibition is indicative of the shared civilisation between India and Sri Lanka by commemorating the birth, enlightenment, and Mahaparinirvana of the Buddha on the holy Vesak full moon Poya day.
It is also noteworthy that the show featured digital recreations of the fresco murals, which depict crucial moments from Lord Buddha’s life and Jataka tales, from the famed UNESCO World Heritage Site Ajanta caves in India. The Buddhist cave structures from the second and first centuries B.C. can be found in Maharashtra, India, at Ajanta Caves.
The statement from Indian High Commission portrayed the exhibition as another example of India’s tireless efforts to protect and revive the Buddhist history of both India and the rest of the world.
As an illustrative of the excellent restoration work being done in the Ajanta caves, exhibition curators Ankur Naik and Prasad Pawar gave President Wickremesinghe a duplicate of the digitally restored Padma of the renowned “Padmapani” on a genuine basalt stone.
The inaugural Global Buddhist Summit, which took place in New Delhi, India, from April 20 to 21, 2023, also featured the exhibition. At the Summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stopped by this display. The show was accessible to the general audience from May 5 to May 7, 2023.
