What connects a head-hunter’s trophy, a meteorite, Hercules, a painting of a Hindu temple, an ornate desk, a brass instrument, a tin of tea (unopened), an exotic orchid, a gharial, stacks of home movies and 8,000 lines of Sanskrit manuscript?
The answer is India – and Cambridge. Among the many millions of objects held across the University’s eight museums, Botanic Garden, Centre for South Asian Studies, and University Library, are a huge number of wonders related to the world’s largest democracy. The stories behind some of these singular objects are being told in a series of short films.
The first film in the series takes us to Cambridge University Library. Over the course of six centuries the UL’s collection has grown from a few dozen volumes on a handful of subjects into an extraordinary accumulation of several million books, maps, manuscripts and journals. The library is also home to an significant collection of Buddhist works, amongst which is one very important Sanskrit palm leaf manuscript. Buddhism was born in the ancient kingdom of Magadha, now in Bihar, India during the 5th century BCE, making it one of the world’s oldest continuously practised religions. This manuscript is about a thousand years old and has one of the most famous titles in world literature — the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā or The Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines. The Perfection of Wisdom offers a path to enlightenment.
India Unboxed is a year -long celebration across the University and city of Cambridge to mark the UK–India Year of Culture 2017. For more information about the India Unboxed exhibitions, events, digital interventions, discussions and installations, visit http://www.museums.cam.ac.uk/whats-on/india-unboxed
