I am witnessing history unfolding in front of my eyes. How should I capture what I am feeling in writing? Let me take you to a movie clip where you look dazed and amazed, perhaps stranded and thousands of people in and around rushing by you. Crossing centuries, you travel back and forth in seconds. That's how i felt. Humbled to set my feet on this holy land, i am awashed with the rich heritage of centres of ancient learning that India cradles, the other two being- Taxila and Vikramshila. 

A UNESCO World Heritage Site and an 'Institute of National Importance' listed by the Indian Government got unearthed from the ashes by Francis Buchanan-Hamilton in 1811-1812. The famed Nalanda until Hamilton was a corpse. Dead. 

But, when Hamilton surveyed the ruin, he couldn't establish a link with the glorious Nalanda Mahavihara. It was Major Markham Kittoe, who established a connection in 1847. Subsequently, Alexander Cunnigham and the newly founded Archaeological Survey of India kick-started the official survey in 1861-1862. The following series of excavations and restorations that began in 1915 continued until 1982. 

The bricks of the world's first residential university were laid during the Gupta empire. Described as ' the Golden Age in Indian history, Nalanda University became the centre of learning that housed some of the most esteemed scholars of Mahayana Buddhism. Besides the teaching of Buddhist schools and philosophies, the university offered courses in Mathematics, Logic, Medicine and Grammar. The Sanskrit texts that were carried out by Hieun Tsang and Yijing from China disseminated Buddhist learning in East Asia.  

Even after restoration, i could differentiate the ancient bricks covered in charcoal from the modern ones. The University before its decline functioned from 427 CE TO 1197 CE. The troops of Bhakhtiyar Khalji did destroy the ramparts of the university, but its soul still echoes the glory it beheld in the olden days.