Taxila was a capital of Gandhara, the easternmost kingdom of the Persian Empire, and the most important centre of early Buddhist art and scholarship, where Greek craftsmen, who stayed behind from Alexander the Great’s campaign, sculpted the first likeness of the Buddha, based on the head of Apollo. One of the greatest universities of the ancient world flourished in Taxila from the 4th century BC, and it was also the key city from which Buddhism made its eastward trek into China along the Silk Road. It is against this rich cultural and historical backdrop that we witness the ‘Far Side’ of human folly and exuberance, the bull race. Very few of the competitors actually manage to complete the 500-yard course.
