Trip to Ulan Ude, Buryatia, Eastern Siberia, July 18-21, 2009

As the Director of the Maulana Abul Kalam Institute for Asian Studies (MAKIAS), Kolkata, Professor Hari Vasudevan led the Indian delegation to Moscow and to Buryatia in 2009, as a part of the government-to-government celebrations of the “Year of India in Russia”. The main events that were organized during the trip were: (i) an exhibition of 80 photographs on Buddhist monasteries in the Himalayas by Benoy Behl (ii) a screening of the documentary film by Benoy Behl on Buddhist culture and practices in the Himalayas (iii) a visit to the datsans (Buddhist monasteries) of this region (iv) a round-table on the comparative histories of  Buddhism in India and Russia (v) an international seminar on Asiatic Russia, Central Asia and India that Hari spearheaded. The photographs here are of the exhibition and conference, the parties and banquets, and the visit to the Baikal Lake of the delegation. Sporting his formal galabandh attire as he officiated over events, and formally hosting the celebrations, Hari is seen here is in his best form. This trip was one of the highpoints of his time as Director of MAKIAS, and it resulted in the landmark exhibition that he organized, titled “The Northern Reaches of Buddhism” in Kolkata later that year.