Buddhist Monumental effort (By D. KRISHNAN)

THE painted ceilings of the Buddhist caves at Ajanta have not drawn as much international attention as the murals. A reason could be that the paintings on the walls deal with incidents from the Buddha’s life and episodes from the Jataka tales, which have a human appeal, whereas the ceilings have geometrical and floral motifs and images of creepers, animals and birds, celestial beings, clowns and so forth. The care for detail that is evident in these paintings is striking. The brilliant portrayal of animal figures, such as a charging bull or elephants, and a flock of geese shows the Ajanta artists’ knowledge of animal anatomy.

Putting the Buddha in Jail Bodh Gaya Blasts (By David Geary)

In the aftermath of the Bodh Gaya bomb blasts in Bihar in mid-2013, the Nitish Kumar government unleashed a security-enhancing and shops-demolition drive. This has increased the sense of insecurity among residents and shopkeepers who sense a wider conspiracy behind it all.

David Geary (david.geary@ubc.ca) is with the University of British Columbia, Okanagan.

In the early morning of 7 July 2013, Bodh Gaya – the place where the Buddha is said to have gained enlightenment – was rocked by a series of low-intensity timed explosions. The first blast took place at 5:15 am with several explosions in quick succession over the next hour. Four of the bomb blasts took place within the Mahabodhi temple complex injuring two Buddhist monks from Myanmar and Tibet. Five additional blasts took place at the Tibetan Tergar Monastery, the 80 ft Buddha statue and the nearby bus stand. Only peripheral damage to the structure of the world ­famous Mahabodhi temple was reported but the ramifications of the blasts have been enormous.