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As
a son of a historian, born and brought up in
Patna, I am bringing my family to visit the land
of their ancestors. Our son Sheraz Shere, a
graduate of Princeton University (U.S.A), and
presently a Vice President with the American
Express in New York, will be witnessing for the
first time by walking in the ruins of the
University of Nalanda. It will take us to an
era, that saw India leading in imparting
knowledge, to the world - the era when India was
a coveted place for studies. Nalanda University
flourished during the 5th and 12th century. The
place saw the rise and fall of many empires and
emperors who contributed in the development of
Nalanda. Nalanda as we know was a prosperous
city during the days of the Buddha. We get a
comprehensive account of Nalanda university from
Hieun Tsang the brilliant Chinese scholar.
History of India and its civilization dates back
to at least 6500 BC which perhaps makes the
oldest surviving civilization in the world.
India has been a meeting ground between the East
and West. Throughout its history many invaders
have come to India but Indian culture allowed it
to adapt to and absorb all.
As societies go in one direction, it loses much
along the way. Going into the past may seem to
some a dull exercise, but to those with an eye
on the future, the past can come as a startling
revelation. The world now has the know-how, the
tools and machinery to mechanize and automate
production, the emergence of modernity hasn't
eliminated the need for high culture, for
artistic expression and architectural creativity
which India has exhibited. I-Tsing (675 - 685)
was another Chinese monk who came to India and
studied at Nalanda. He too like Hieun Tsang left
an account of his travels. In this he gives us
an account of Nalanda. It appears that King
Kumaragupta (415- 455) built the first monastery
at Nalanda. It was a seminary for training
Buddhist monks. With the rise of Buddhism in
India, there arose many centres of learning
which did not exist before. Buddhist monks could
have opted for a life of meditation in the
forests, a life of teaching, preaching,
propagating the Dharma. As a result of these
activities of the teaching monks, seats of
learning arose. Nalanda University was an
expansion and extension of this seminary. In the
10th century when Hieun Tsang entered the
University, there were 10,000 students, 1510
teachers and about 1500 workers at Nalanda.
Students attending University of Nalanda came
from Tibet, China, Japan, Korea, Sumatra, Java
and Sri Lanka. Admission to Nalanda was by oral
examination.
On November 19, 1958 the President of India, Dr.
Rajendra Prasad inaugurated the Nalanda Viharaya
at a site close to the ancient University as
recorded by my father Syed Ahsan Shere, Curator
of Patna Museum, in his memoirs, who was present
on that occasion.
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Syed Waris
Shere is the author of seven books in the field
of Applied Mathematics and International
Affairs. Professor Shere is a resident of
Winnipeg, Canada since 1962.
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