21/08/2024
Note by Capt.R.L.Brohier, British Royal Army (1920's) when Aukana was first spotted in the sunless thicket:
"I believe that the greatest work of art created by man in the world is the Aukana Buddha statue. I did the measurements in the Kala Lake valley long before the restoration work of the Kala Lake was completed and the colonial farmers settled in the farmlands covered by hugely grown forest. There were no roads. The surveying party was moving forward through the forest to find a high hill for a triangulation site. As we were advancing through the forest, suddenly this huge statue appeared in front of us. I was stunned. I could not believe whether what I was seeing was real or an illusion. It took me a while to regain my senses.
The pride that had been in his heart throughout his life as a citizen of the sunless empire was blurred at that moment. In front of the huge statue, I was reduced to a small angutumitta. Dismissing my pride, I went to see this charming and amazing creation. Facing the monsoon winds and rains, cloud roars and thunderbolts that swept through this land for more than twenty centuries, the colossal statue stood tall in Mahesakhya Leela. I realized that it was a miracle to have survived the cruel hands of the cruel invaders."
RHMCTR
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