An Exhibition Showcasing the Buddhist World of Architecture

June 19th 2015: An exhibition on ‘Architecture of the Buddhist World: The Golden Lands,’ first volume in a series of six books by Vikram Lall was held at India International Centre. Lall is the first person worldwide who travelled to more than 20 countries to conduct in-depth research on Buddhist architecture including the Southeast Asian countries, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos.  The week long exhibition was inaugurated by Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan, eminent art scholar, historian and the Chairperson of IIC Asia Project.

Dr. Vatsyayan appreciated Lall’s work saying, “It is very impressive and amazing work done by Vikram Lall that takes a person through many centuries and many lands where Buddhism flourished.”

Mr. Lall said at the inauguration, “My focus in this research was the change and development in the architecture of Buddhist monuments. My research gives an analysis of the geographical and historical details associated with these temples.”

The other personalities who visited the exhibition and were spellbound by Lall’s contribution to the subject were Dr. Lokesh Chandra, President, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Dr. Subhash C. Malik, Retd. UGC Professor, Prof. Nalini Thakur, School of Planning and Architecture, and Shri. Shyam Saran (Ex-foreign secretary), Chairman, Research & Information System for Developing countries. More than 800 people visited the exhibition over the week and were mesmerized by the architectural drawings and photographs.

The exhibition consisted of 3 dimensional architectural models, drawings and photographs from his book, The Golden Lands, first book in the world that presents Buddhist architectural history in virtual reality. It was a week-long exhibition that ran from 12th till 19th June, portraying various Buddhist monuments- monasteries, stupas and pagodas from Southeast Asian countries. It also included original photographs of the various destinations that have been captured by world’s top 10 photographers. The exhibition traced the evolution of architectural form and spaces in response to changing ideas, material realities, and building traditions of Southeast Asia.

Morgan Campbell, student at Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, New Brunswick, said, “The photographs beautifully portray Buddhist architecture and the drawings vividly depict the history of architecture in Southeast Asian countries. The work is very informative and I am glad to have visited this exhibition.”

Lall’s book, which is first in the series ‘Architecture of the Buddhist World’ represents a new multidisciplinary approach showing how Buddhist thoughts and rituals have interacted with local traditions across the Asian continent to produce masterpieces of religious architecture. It reveals the history, styles, and interpretation of Buddhist temples, monasteries, and ancient monuments in Southeast Asian countries. The book was launched by His Holiness The Dalai Lama earlier this year.