Author's films about Buddhism in Asia

We provide our readers with a series of popular science films about Buddhism and journeys to the countries of Central and South-East Asia produced by the remarkable Uzbek professor Gavkhar Vakhidova.

1.«A Journey to the Ancient and Mysterious World of Buddhism in Central Asia»

This film deals with the rich Buddhist heritage in the Surkhandarya region of Uzbekistan (the 1-3 centuries A.D.) in the period of the Kushan Empire (the pre-Islamic period) and in the southern Tajikistan in the period of the Early Middle Ages.

 

2. «A Journey to the Ancient and Mysterious World of Buddhism in Central Asia continues»

This film deals with prosperity of Buddhism in Fergana (Kuva) and the Chu valley of Kyrgyzstan in the period of the Early Middle Ages as well as the role of the Great Silk Road in development and exchange of cultures and confessions, in particular Buddhism in the Central Asia region.

 

3. «Ladakh: Ascension to the Heights of Beauty and Spirituality»

This film about Ladakh, the Little Tibet, is dedicated to the Roerichs who, during the Trans-Himalayan expedition, visited this amazing country - the country of Maitreya Buddha...

 

4. «A Journey to the Ancient and Mysterious World of Buddhism in Central Asia»

This film is about the rich Buddhist heritage in Surkhandarya region of Uzbekistan in the period of a Kushan empire (pre-Islamic period, 1 – 3 century A.D.) and in the south of Tadjikistan in the period of the early Middle Ages.

About the author::

Gavkhar Ahadovna Vakhidova, born in 1950, grew up and got education in the city of Samarkand, the pearl of the East. She graduated from Medical Institute with honors majoring in medical practice. During many years she engaged in scientific work on the problems of immunology and immunochemistry of tuberculosis. She defended the Master’s Thesis (in 1978) and Doctoral Thesis (in 1990) at Moscow scientific research institutes. G.A.Vakhidova has established her own scientific school: four Doctoral and nine Master’s thesis have been defended under her guidance. In 1994 she was awarded the title of a Professor.

In 1993 at the invitation of the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim (Germany) she became the Head of the Representative Office of this company in Uzbekistan and at the same time she was Medical Marketing Director of this company in eight countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus. The main goal of the activity was realization of educational programs for physicians as well as introduction new consensus on treatment of bronchial obstructive diseases into health care practice. Upon liquidation of the Representative Office, G.A.Vakhidova worked as Medical Marketing Director of the Austrian company SanMed during 10 years. Since 2010 till present time she has been an advisor of Boehringer Ingelheim in Uzbekistan.

Mrs. Vakhidova’s husband, Ruslan Makhmudovich Ruzibakiev, was a scientist engaging in problems of immunology and immunogenetics. He was a Professor and the Honored Scientist of Uzbekistan. In 2002 he died after a long illness; her daughter Malika Ruslanovna Ruzibakieva, Ph.D. in Medicine, also engages in science (immunogenetics). She works at the Institute of Immunology of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan and at present she is working on her Doctoral Thesis.

After her husband’s death, Dr. Gavkhar went to Dharamsala (Northern India) to the Tibetanan Medical & Astrological Institute for getting consultation. In addition to consultation and pleasant acquaintance with the Institute's staff, she visited all small Hindu temples and attended the service at the Buddhist monastery and this event was seared into her soul. Before her leaving Amritsar for Tashkent, she visited the Singh Golden Temple.

She recalls: “I returned from there as a quite different person: I was given some hefty boost and I wished to live and work with pleasure and love like it was before my husband died. In 2004 I went there again. In 2005 I invited a doctor and Kelsang Dechen to Tashkent for 2 weeks; they brought medications with them and gave consultations to patients; we went together to Samarkand and they found friends in Tashkent. Then we continued to order medicines for our patients for a long time. In November 2005, after having read Georgy Zotov’s article in “Arguments and Facts”, I went with my friend, who is also a doctor, to Ulan-Ude to the Ivolginsky datsan where we met Khambo Lama Itigelov who greatly impressed me!

And since then every year I go to him to bow before him and receive his blessing! He leads me through life as my guide: we together travel along the Himalayas, Baikal and Buryatia. It was he who directed me to my country, the south of Uzbekistan, to study history of Buddhism in Middle Asia and in Central Asia (my next project is Buddhism in East Turkestan, in Qin-Jiang). I am extremely attracted and inspired by the studies of numerous scientists of the beginning of the last century!

The academician Rtveladze, our famous scholar-archaeologist and historian, is very pleased that with my films I bring information to many people who did not know history of Buddhism in Central Asia at all which existed and prospered long before appearance of Buddhism in Tibet and with such a high level of culture in which many unique schools of arts united!”

We are grateful to Gavkhar Vakhidova for her valuable and fascinating research and looking forward to new programs on her YouTube channel