Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday visited the ancient city of Taxila, terming it an “emotive” and “overpowering” experience, and the century-old Katasraj temples that have recently been restored in Pakistan’s Punjab province.
Mr Kumar, who is on a week-long trip to the country, travelled along with his entourage that included Rajya Sabha MP N.K. Singh, to Taxila, the Unesco world heritage site that is a part of the shared history of India and Pakistan.
As he visited the site of historic glory, 32 km northwest to Islamabad, he drew in it parallels to Nalanda, the great centre of ancient learning in his own state Bihar.
“A visit to Taxila is always overpowering. It is a journey three thousand years old in time, to a place which was a great centre of learning and intellectual pursuits with somewhat parallel of its kind situated at Nalanda in the state of Bihar,” Mr Kumar wrote in the visitors’ book at Taxila.
The city that dates back to the Gandhara period, also houses the ruins of the Gandhara city which was regarded as an important Hindu and Buddhist centre.
“Nalanda and Taxila may be separated by geography but they are linked by history as ancient centres of knowledge and it is this bond of knowledge we shall aspire to revive. Anyone coming from Bihar a visit to Taxila will always be emotive and overpowering. I can’t be an exception,” he wrote.