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Indian state Punjab's Governor V.P. Singh Badnore virtually inaugurated a unique environmental landmark in Chandigarh on Monday - the Museum of Trees - to commemorate the 551st birth anniversary of the first Sikh master, Guru Nanak Dev.
Conceived and curated by former Indian Administrative Service officer and author D.S. Jaspal, the Museum of Trees, nestled near the Chandigarh railway station, comprises a sacred grove created out of genetic clones of 12 trees associated with Sikhism.
The naming of Sikh shrines after trees is unique to the religion. As many as 59 Sikh shrines are named after 19 such trees.
The project, the first of its kind in the world, was funded by India's Ministry of Culture and promoted by the non-governmental organisation Chandigarh Nature and Health Society.
It is India's only outdoor walk-through museum where visitors can see different trees considered sacred by the Sikhs.
Alongside each tree, a 2.3m-high panel carries a description of its botanical features as well as its association with a Sikh shrine.
To preserve and propagate the surviving sacred trees within various Sikh shrines in India and Pakistan, the museum authorities have reproduced 12 sacred trees.
These include the "Dukh Bhanjani" beri (jujube) tree at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the beri tree at Gurudwara Ber Sahib in Sialkot, Pakistan, the peepal (fig) tree at Gurudwara Pipli Sahib in Amritsar and the tahli (North Indian rosewood) tree at Gurudwara Tahli Sahib in Punjab's Hoshiarpur.
Indo-Asian News Service
