Illustrated lecture by Prof. Himanshu Prabha Ray, author and historian, currently Research Fellow, Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, Oxford and Routledge Series Editor, Archaeology and Religion in South Asia

The search for relics of the Buddha is a fascinating story of irretrievable transformation of an ancient religious practice dating from the 3rd century BCE Mauryan period in the 19th and 20th centuries as brick mounds indicating ancient stupas yielded their treasures of gems, gold and coins to indiscriminate diggers and adventurers. The talk will provide a context and the background to the IIC photo exhibition in the Quadrangle Garden