What ancient spell does Nalanda still cast, centuries after its fall to ruin? In her evocative new book, Echoes of Nalanda, renowned scholar and academician Dr Kavita A. Sharma embarks on a deeply personal and intellectual journey to unravel this enduring mystery. Published in 2025, this slim yet profound volume offers readers a powerful meditation on memory, history, and the timeless spirit of learning.

Part travelogue, part historical reflection, Echoes of Nalanda is more than just a study of one of the world’s oldest universities—it is a lyrical homage to an idea that once shaped the spiritual and intellectual DNA of Asia. Set against the backdrop of the 2010 revival of Nalanda University by the Government of India, Sharma’s exploration begins with a simple question: Why Nalanda? Why now?

What unfolds is a richly textured narrative that weaves together past and present, legend and lived experience. From the scholarly pilgrimages of Chinese monks Xuanzang and I-Ching, whose names still echo through the ruins, to the untold stories of Indian scholars who risked treacherous journeys to China centuries ago, Sharma brings to life a world that once thrived on dialogue, inquiry, and universal learning.

As she retraces sacred geographies—from the bustling streets of Patna to the tranquil landscapes of Rajgir, often with her young granddaughter Maya in tow—Sharma reflects on the deeper meanings of education, heritage, and continuity. Nalanda, she suggests, is not merely a ruin or a historical site. It is a living metaphor for what learning can and should be: a pilgrimage of the soul.

Dr Sharma, a Fulbright and Shastri Fellow, and former President of South Asian University, brings a lifetime of academic and administrative experience to bear in this work. With an illustrious career that includes serving as the first woman principal of Hindu College, University of Delhi, and the first woman director of the India International Centre, Sharma writes not only with scholarly precision but also with the grace of lived wisdom.

She is the author of several acclaimed works, including Life Is As Is: Teachings from the Mahabharata, and has been recognized for her pioneering leadership in the Limca Book of Records. In Echoes of Nalanda, Sharma blends history, memory, and gentle scholarship to deliver a poignant reminder: that education is not just a tool for advancement, but a path to transcendence.

“Nalanda is not only a site of ruins—it is a whispering presence,” she writes, “a call to reawaken our reverence for knowledge, dialogue, and inner transformation.”

With Echoes of Nalanda, Dr Kavita A. Sharma has gifted us a heartfelt tribute to an immortal idea—that learning, in its truest form, is the highest pilgrimage one can undertake.

Book Details

Title: Echoes of Nalanda
Author: Dr Kavita A. Sharma
Genre: Non-fiction / History / Travelogue
Publisher: Rupa Publications