Express Research: In search of a lost city in Bihar

Express Research

EXPRESS RESEARCH

Dear reader,   A pair of burnt clay sealings found recently at a hilltop called Lal Pahari in Lakhisarai district of Bihar has left archaeologists and historians ecstatic. Researchers say the evidence on the sealings suggest the excavated area was a Buddhist monastery of the early medieval period. This was in all probability the first hilltop monastery in the entire Gangetic area and one that was run by a monk named Vijayshree Bhadra.   Most importantly though, the sealings hold vital clues to a long lost city in Bihar known as Krimila, which historians have been trying to locate for the last many decades. Krimila is known to have been an important religious-cum-administrative centre in eastern India in the early medieval period. A flourishing urban settlement, it is said to have been famous for the manufacture of stone sculptures, particularly Tibetan-Buddhist sculptures.    In this story Sahil Beg digs out all we know about this early medieval city, and what the evidence of a monastery tells us about the place. Although British officers and explorers of the 19th century were first to point to the existence of Krimila, the exercise to unearth the lost city began only in 2009. Archaeologist Anil Kumar’s work titled, ‘Kṛimilā: A Forgotten Adhiṣṭhāna of Early Medieval Eastern India’ is an important and fascinating piece that details out the significance of this city.    Today as we celebrate the birth anniversary of Subhash Chandra Bose, major political parties of the country are going all out to pay homage to the nationalist leader. Despite the many attempts at appropriating Netaji, the mystery surrounding his death is yet to be resolved. This article from 2017 takes a comprehensive look at how the controversy over Netaiji’s death unfolded over the years. This other interview from 2018, with journalist Ashis Ray who wrote the book, ‘Laid to rest: The controversy over Subhas Chandra Bose’s death’, is also interesting in this context. In his book, Ray has put together a large number of evidence to point out that Bose indeed passed away in a plane crash in August 1945.    Wishing you a pleasant weekend ahead.    Sincerely,   Adrija Roychowdhury

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