Gol gappe and lassi as Modi and Japan PM visit Buddha Jayanti Park

“One of the aspects which connects India and Japan is the teachings of Lord Buddha. PM @kishida230 and I went to the Buddha Jayanti Park in Delhi. Sharing some glimpses,” tweeted PM Modi.

“Spoke to PM @kishida230 on India’s G20 Presidency and how our presidency will give voice to the views of the Global South. We also discussed ways to further peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” the PM said in another tweet.

For the visit, the park’s gates were decorated with marigold flowers and 20-30 police personnel guarded each entry and exit point. MCD workers were cleaning roads and footpaths surrounding the park, alongside which huge banners with pictures of the two leaders were placed.

Located in the heart of the Central Ridge, the park is spread across 81 acres and was inaugurated by former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri who planted a sapling of the Holy Bodhi tree from Sri Lanka on October 25, 1964. The sapling was presented by former Sri Lankan PM Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

The park is home to almost 100 types of trees and 40 shrub species and has an open garden, palm, rose, cactus and a bougainvillea garden. It falls under CPWD’s horticulture unit.

Several writers, artists and nature lovers have expressed their love for the park through writings and ‘forest bathing’ walks. “… Our aim is to help people familiarise with the unique natural heritage which is there in this park, given the fact that it is thriving in the Aravallis which are the oldest mountain ranges of the world,” said Syed Mohammed Qasim, an artist who regularly holds nature bathing walks in Delhi.

As per the Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices, “The chronicles aver that a son (Mahinda) and a daughter Sanghamitta of the great third century BC Indian emperor Ashoka arrived on the island of Sri Lanka to convert the Lankan King, Devanampiya Tissa, to Buddha’s dharma and to establish the Buddhist order of monks and nuns in the newly consecrated capital city of Anuradhapura.”

It goes on to state that Sanghamitta was said to have brought with her a sapling of the original Bodhi tree under which the Buddha had gained enlightenment. The same tree continues to be venerated by Sinhala Buddhists in Sri Lanka, an extended sapling of which is at the Buddha park.