Similar feelings were inspired during my earlier visits to Varanasi in India -Asit Poddar

My travels in India and abroad opened my eyes to the synergy of art and architecture. In 2010, during a visit to Vienna and Salzburg in Austria, the classical city of Praha in the Czech republic, Bratislava on the river Danube in neighbouring Slovakia and Budapest in Hungary, I was struck by the medieval cathedrals, old museum buildings, quaint bridges spanning rivers, the broad boulevards that grace old Europe. Two thousand long years of history are condensed within its splendid architecture, yet they have not left an impression of fatigue or decay.

Similar feelings were inspired during my earlier visits to Varanasi in India. Located on the left bank of the river Ganges, Varanasi is the holiest city for Hindus. From time immemorial it has been a center for pilgrimage with pilgrims arriving from all over the world. Claimed to be the oldest city in the world, it dates back to the time of Babylon and Nineveh in ancient Abyssinia. With its array of shrines, temples, Ghats and palaces rising in several tiers from the rivers edge, it is one of the most picturesque cities in the East.

Bronze on Architecture by Asit Poddar

This series of paintings express the idea that architecture is the aesthetic manifestation of civilization.