________________ ( xvii) Shri Sanat Kumar Chaturvedi, I. A. S, the then Commissioner of Tirhut Division, who happened to be the ex-officio Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Institute, was an officer of high intellectual taste and did much for advancing the cause of the Institute sincerely. He actively associated himself with the publication of this volume. We offer him our sincere thanks. We would also like to extend our thanks to Shri Durga Shankar Mukhopadhyaya, I. A.S., who came later and continued Shri Chaturvedi's work, and the present Commissioner, Smt. Maiati Sunila Sinha, I. A. S., who is also evincing genuine interest in the activities of the Institute including the present We take this opportunity to thank Shri Mukhtiar Singh, I A. S., the then District Magistrate of Vaisbali and ex-officio General Secretary of the Vaigali Sangba, whose door was always open to or in any other context. He showed readiness in sponsoring and helping cultural and intellectual causes and also promptness in the matter of acquisition of land for the Vaisali Shanti Stupa and construction of the road on the two remajning sides of the rectangular AbhishekaPushkarini (the "Coronation Tank" of the Lichchhavi days) at (the village of) Vaishali. We would be failing in our duty, if we do not thank the present District Magistrates of Muzaffarpur and Vaishali, Shri Rahul Sarin, I. A. S., and Shri B. B. Shrivastava, I. A. S., respectively who are also showing special interest in the work of development of the Vaishali area. Last but not the least, we would like to thank Shri Rama Shankar Pandya, Proprietor of Tara Pripting Works, Varanasi, for undertaking the work and doing his best for completing it in time, and Shri Ram Naresh Sharma, my son-in-law, who volunteered himself for proof-correction and thus enabled us to avoid some big pitfalls. Shri J. C. Mathur (1917-1978), who mooted the idea of presenting a commemoration volume as a people's homage to the memory of the unique city and all that it stood for, is no more; be left us on May 14, 1978. In the original edition we were fortunate in having the services of Shri Upendra Maharathi (1910-1981) as Kalakara (Artist). His name had appeared on the inner title page in this capacity. He breathed his last on February 11, 1981 and we are so impoverished. We miss both of them sadly especially at every Vaigali-Mahotsava (Chait sudi 13). If we can
