Residents of Antichak village are busy arranging decorative lights around their house to celebrate a "second" Diwali on November 26 -the day President Pranab Mukerjee will visit the half-excavated ancient ruins of Vikramshila Buddha Mahavihara.
These inhabitants of Kahalgaon sub-division in Bhagalpur, under whose jurisdiction the Vikramshila site falls, are in a festive mood and have decided to celebrate the President's first visit to this ancient seat of learning since its excavation in the 70s.
"We having been fighting for Vikramshila's inclusion in the Buddha Circuit for a long time now," said Aman Paswan, former BJP MLA from Pirpainty. "Gautama Buddhaspent time near the site. This varsity, built around 400 years after his mahanirvana (death) spear-headed the spread of Buddhism. It is due to Lamaism, a Buddhist sect that originated in Vikramshila, and its founder, Acharya Dipankar Srighyan Atisha, that Buddhism attained global popularity. It's unfortunate the varsity has not been included in the Buddha Circuit."
The MLA is busy motivating residents to light lamps and give the President a warm welcome. "We strongly believe his visit will change the fate of these neglected ruins," Paswan said.
The president is scheduled to arrive at NTPC, Kahalgaon, around 8km from the ruins, in an Indian Air Force chopper from Deoghar in Jharkhand. He will stay at theNTPC guest house on the night of November 26 and reach the ruins by chopper next morning. The President's itinerary includes a visit to Vikramshila, unveiling a souvenir on the ruins published by the Press club of Eastern Bihar, and an address to a gathering at a programme organised by Nishikant Dubey, a BJP MP from Godda and a native of Bhawanipur - a village close to Vikramshila.
"We have sent invitations to households in Kahalgaon and Pirpainty so that a large gathering is there to welcome him," Dubey saidon Sunday.
He said the President will be presented betel nuts coloured in turmeric paste, as is the custom. Dubey met NTPC, Kahalgaon officers and other senior officers like district magistrate Adesh Titarmare and senior superintendent of police Manoj Kumar to discuss preparations for the President's visit.
Titarmare inspected the ongoing preparations at the site and will coordinate with Rashtrapati Bhavan for all details. "We have also sent copies of the souvenir that will be unveiled by the President to the Rashtrapati Bhavan," Titamare said.
The district administration is on its toes, trying to prepare for the President's visit. Repairs along the dilapidated stretch of NH-80 from Bhagalpur to Kahalgaon and the construction of a ramp at the site, for the president, has been accelerated. "The president will use an eco-rickshawto visit the ruins, which is why we have allowed the construction of the ramp. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) allows such ramps to be constructed for the ease of elderly and physically challenged persons visiting such ruins," said Anurag Kumar, in-charge of the ASI museum at Vikramshila. "As the ramp will be constructed with steel plates, it will not be possible to construct it over the main Stupa located at the centre of the varsity. The President will have to observe it from a distance."
