Patna: The
Google Cultural Institute
(GCI), in association with
Nava Nalanda Mahavihara
, Nalanda (a deemed university), has published online the famous Chinese scholar Xuanzang's pilgrimage to Bihar in the 7th century AD. The GCI has already brought together millions of artefacts from multiple partners with the stories that bring them to life in a virtual museum.
The highlight of the online exhibits is the story of making of Xuanzang Memorial, which was jointly conceived by India and China in the 1950s.
Over 100 photographs from Buddhist sites like Bodh Gaya, Vaishali, Parwati and Nalanda where Xuanzang visited in Bihar can be viewed by people around the world. The virtual exhibits are curated by Deepak Anand and Aparajita Goswami at the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara (NNM). Thanks to this new virtual exhibition, users will be able to see detailed maps depicting Xuanzang's journey on https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/collection/xuanzang- memorial-nava-nalanda-mahavihara.
"The objective of this project is to showcase and promote the lesser known Buddhist sites in Bihar," said NNM researcher Deepak Anand.
One of the photographers whose photographs were captured by GCI is a French archaeologist and kite photographer Guichard Yves. He has spent months together at places like Rajgir, Bodh Gaya, Nalanda and Vaishali for shooting pictures of various archaeological sites in Bihar.
Kite photography has been a crucial part of aerial archaeology that enables the researchers to study minor details of a site by taking its panoramic picture. Even in the age of drones, it holds immense significance for capturing archaeological sites, said a scholar.
The GCI has partnered with more than 1,000 institutions from 70 countries, giving a platform to over 200 thousand artworks and a total of 6 million photos, videos, manuscripts and other documents of art, culture and history.