THE PAST IN VISUAL IMAGES 3

Sarnath the Buddha went after crossing the G-anges.
From the ruins of the monasteries of Sarnath rises the
picture of the time when Buddhist monks from far and
wide followed in the footsteps of the Buddha.

"His Majesty plans splended edifices...," writes
Abul Pazi, the historian of Akbar's court. The Great
Gateway of his deserted capital, Pafcehpur-Sikri, is a
tangible proof of these words. Each monument, every
building, even the tanks and wells were built to a plan.
It was in this capital that, for many years, Akbar
cherished the hope of a united India and one religion
for all—a unity of religions he himself practised. Despite
the echoing emptiness of this dead capital, illusion
recreates the familiar scene of Akbar in the Hall of
Private Audience, and of a populous city. Visual images
come and vanish in a trice—only the emptiness
remains.

Cloud-filled South Indian skies form the background
to giant temple towers. Only some fifteen centuries ago
the artists chiselled these pyraznidical summits thafc
crown the gateways to the shrines of cherished gods.
Sovereigns patronized these mighty works of art, artisans
achieved them. As the eye admires the beauty of the
carvings that skilled artists bequeathed to posterity, the
mind tries to conjecture the busy lives that were con-
secrated to the embellishment of religion with art.

North, East, South, and West^ beneath the bustle of
everyday Indian life an ever-present past is discernible.
Temples, mosques, sanctuaries, deserted towns and ruins,
and the traditional rites maintained in living cities
reflect the past in the tablean-mvant of the cities of India
today. The latest strokes of Time's brush to this scene are