3. Head of Gandharan Buddha, Peshawar , Pakistan

The ancient country of Gandhara flourished from 2nd c before CE till the 7thc CE, with its capital at Taxila or Takshashila occupying what is now North West Pakistan and adjacent areas including the Swāt Valley and eastern Afghanistan

When the great Buddhas of Bamiyan were blown up by the Taliban in 2001, I suffered what I felt was a great personal grief. Since then, with my passion for ancient Buddhist art, architecture and scriptures, I have journeyed far and wide to see and record as many ancient sites of ancient Buddhist sites all over Asia.

Most Gandharan sites of ancient Buddhist art are now found in Pakistan and Afghanistan and tragically most have either been wholly or partially destroyed. I saw glaring evidence of wanton and deliberate destruction of non-Islamic art, sculpture and monuments at every turn. This has virtually obliterated the precious records of mighty Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms that even Alexander from Macedonia had encountered but left intact.   Active destruction and ruthless looting go on to this day with the authorities either turning a blind eye or shrugging their shoulders.

Soon after I had seen the 7^th century CE Buddha carved on the mountain side at Jehanabad in Pakistan, the Taliban blew up the face.

I needed to experience and record in detail whatever was left of the ancient art , sculpture and monuments however dangerous the journeys. I travelled alone, sometimes with armed guards to areas in North West Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, the Swat valley, up to the Hindukush. I now have a precious record of a vast number of  photographs from various sites including remote posts such as Takshashila, Jandial, Jamal Garhi, Butkara, Jaulian, Kalawan, Jinnan wali Dheri, Charsadda , Mohra Moradu, Takht-i-Bahi, Ghalagai, Sirsukh etc

Thankfully, I found the museums at Peshawar and Swat still contain some remarkable examples of Gandharan art. Most sculptures are made with grey slate, green phyllite or blue mica schist.