Sri Lankan High Commissioner Visits Lucknow’s Buddhist Cultural Institutions

Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India, Mahishini Colonne, visited Buddhist, academic and cultural institutions in Lucknow on 26 and 27 September 2026, according to the High Commission.

The visit took place at the invitation of the Lord Buddha Welfare Foundation Bharat and included meetings with scholars, students, artists and representatives of cultural institutions.

At the International Buddhist Research Institute, Colonne visited the Pali Education Centre and library and met faculty and students. Participants included Julampitiye Punyasara Thero, a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk who teaches Pali at the centre.

Their discussions addressed Pali scholarship and Sri Lanka’s historic role in preserving and transmitting Buddhist texts. The institute was established by the Uttar Pradesh government in 1985, according to the High Commission’s account.

Colonne also inaugurated the Soul of Art International Art Exhibition at the State Lalit Kala Academy and met participating artists. At the State Museum, she viewed the Gandhara art collection and met Meenakshi Khemka.

Another stop was the Lucknow Museum of Heritage and Art, which presents the cultural heritage of Awadh. The programme combined visits to collections with discussions about living artistic and religious traditions.

The High Commissioner attended the pre-launch of the Dhamma Sthali Coffee Table Book, a foundation initiative connected with a Buddhist cultural and spiritual centre being developed near ancient Shravasti in Balrampur.

She linked the project to opportunities for pilgrimage, scholarship and cultural exchange within Uttar Pradesh’s wider Buddhist Circuit.

Colonne also referred to the significance of Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Shravasti and Kushinagar for Sri Lankan Buddhists, describing their place in religious and cultural inheritance before many pilgrims first visit them.

The High Commission presents the visit as an opportunity to develop academic, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, bringing Pali education, Buddhist heritage and contemporary art into the same programme of engagements in Lucknow.