Buddhist project aims to develop pilgrimage in state

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PATNA, India -- Nava Nalanda Mahavihara (deemed to be university) in collaboration with the department of youth, art and culture has initiated a project titled, 'Revival of the Ancient Buddhist Pilgrimage in Bihar'.

The project has twin objectives of taking the existing Buddhist pilgrimage to other lesser known, but important places associated with the Buddha and facilitate community-heritage interface.

An event calendar has been prepared to generate awareness regarding the Buddhist heritage of Bihar. To begin with, on the occasion of the World Tourism Day on September 27, Mahavihara is organizing a day-long workshop titled, 'Engaged Buddhism'.

To facilitate community-heritage interface, the project has conceptualized 'Maha Kassapa' award, to felicitate individuals and institutions working towards protection and preservation of ancient Buddhist remains at villages.

Maha Kassapa, the first patron of the Buddhist 'sangha', had convened the first Buddhist Council after the Mahaparinirvana of the Buddha.

In its inception year, the project committee has decided to honour Ram Pukar Singh for his contributions towards protection, preservation and awareness generation with regard to heritage of Chechar in Vaishali.

Another highlight of the event is the inauguration of a moving thematic exhibition titled, 'A Journey Through Bihar to Vihara'. The pictorial exhibition is an effort to retrace the journey of Vihara to Bihar and generate awareness on the sublime wanderings of the Buddha in Bihar.

The Buddhist remains of Bihar is spread across in its villages and most of the time the community of the village is unaware of its social and economical value. Tangible and intangible cultural heritage of Bihar can provide economic benefit while reinforcing the common identity of the community and strengthening socio-economic aspirations.

"In the past, we have organized thematic exhibitions featuring various aspects of the Buddhist heritage of Bihar. In continuity of the past efforts we are organizing an exhibition titled, 'A Journey Through Bihar to Vihara'. The focus of the exhibition is on the footprints of the Buddha and its dynamics with the local community," said project coordinator Dipankar Lama.

"The main objective is to instill a sense of pride among the community about the existence of tangible and intangible heritage in their vicinity. We also want to reach those who support the preservation of cultural heritage in this region so that we can plan the roadmap which will enable us to jointly envision and ensure a future for the cultural heritage of Bihar," Lama said.

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Orissa to spend spend 14 crores to develop Buddhist sites to attract tourists

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Jajpur, India -- To attract more tourists to Langudi, Kaima, Neulipur, Tarapur and other hills in Jajpur district, the state government will spend 14 crores within four years, said Ashok Tripathy the secretary of tourism and culture department of Orissa on Saturday.  Tripathy along with senior officials visited these Buddhist sites on Saturday.

For an archeological hotspot, Langudi wears the tag of obscurity well. Located in Dharmasala tahasil of Jajpur district , it is a sleepy hamlet with a sparse population. But things could change, thanks to the discovery of a Buddhist Stupa along with many images of different postures of Lord Buddha. Langudi hit the headlines eight years ago, when several senior historian and archeologists considered it as the ‘Puspagiri’ as described the famous Chinese traveler Huein Tsang . However, very few tourists have since ventured into this remote hamlet for a view of the aretefacts. But the government will spend money to develop the Buddhist site for which more tourists will come soon, said Tripathy.

Targeting Buddhist Tourism, in Jajpur the state government is going to launch Buddhist Circuit involving primary pilgrimage places associated with the life and teachings of Lord Buddha.Lalitagiri, Ratnagiri, Udayagiri, Langudi, Kaima and Neulipur are the primary pilgrimage places along with numerous other sites where Buddha and the saints travelled will be part of the itinerary, Tripathy said .

Global tourism trend has shifted to Asian Tourist market with 40 per cent of total tourists in the international tourism market arriving from Asian Countries. “Trend of tourism is changing with the interval of time and there is a need of new products to be identified,” said Tripathy.
The state government will build a 150 feet high Buddha statute in Neulapur hill and a 85 Buddha statute in Deuli hill to attract more tourists. A 50 feet high Shiva statute will be built in Gokarneswat temple. A 500 meter long ropeway will be connected from Deuli hill to Kaima hill, said Tripathy.

Kalpataru Das the MLA of Dharmasala suggested before the officials to build the statues and we have agreed to abide the decision of the MLA, said Tripathy.

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