The book begins with the sunyata of Bamiyan, discusses its international nexus, the tragic history of its destruction where Hazara tribals once lit an occasional lamp to the glory of their ancestors, its influence on the Buddhist sculptural tradition, the failure of all efforts to prevent iconoclasm, or the positive comment of an Bodhgaya, and the 231 feet Maitreya at Leshan are the offshoots of Bamiyan. The symbolism of the Cosmic Buddhas of Bamiyan gives a glimpse of their scintillating philosophical universe. A hundred-page long monograph on Hariti by N. Peri has been translated into English from French. It is a detailed study from Chinese canonical and other texts. The scripta minora of Prof. Nirmala Sharma include a rare Mongolian miniature of Ganesa and Indra as the 'Twin Orders of the State', the only known Tibetan manuscript on mudras in Copenhagen, the depiction of nine rasas on the art of the sprawling Buddhist Cosmopolis.
Prof. Nirmala Sharma discusses the sculptures of theSiva family, the Saptamatrka, Sakti in the Queens Stepwell at Patan, Lord Krsna, costumes ant textile patterns in the Ragamala paintings, dance and music in Jain Paintings; all in the region of Gujarat.

Folk themes of Dhola-Maru's love, folk art and crafts of Raja Ravi Varma, and finally the unique art perception of the Roerichs enrich the volume.

Bamiyan, Hariti and Kindred Iconics, Nirmala Sharma, Aditya Prakashan, Hardcover, 280 Pages, $75.00

Nirmal Sharma is an Art Historian an a Professor of Buddhist Studies at the International Academy of Indian Culture, New Delhi. She is working on a project of Indiara Gandhi National Centre for the Arts on Iconography of the mandalas of the Dukhang of Alchi. With two masters degrees, one in Fine Arts and the other in Ancient Indian History Culture and Archaeology, her Ph.D. thesis is on the Ragamala Paintings. She has been awarded two gold and a silver medal for best papers read at the Gujarat Itihas Parishad. She is a recipient of National Fellowship in Fine Arts, Nagpur University and Senior Fellow of the American the American Institute of Indian Studies. She has lectured on India Art and Culture (paintings,sculptures and monuments) as a senior Faculty at the Academic Staff College, Gujarat University from 2001-2004.