While parties work out the political landscape of Parliament, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is working on the Rashtrapati Bhavan’s landscape. On the cards is an all-religion ‘‘sacred’’ garden at Raisina Hill, signifying communal harmony.Following his efforts for a herbal garden to promote indigenous systems of medicine, the President is now turning his attention to, what he calls, a ‘‘mission’’ to provide ‘‘connectivity among religions’’. The garden will house a cross-section of plants considered sacred by various faiths, as an example of religious co-existence.The garden is likely to be ready in the next couple of months. It will be spread across 1.5 acres and is expected to to have nearly 40 varieties of plants from seven major religions. It is likely to be opened to the public next year.The list, as of now, includes Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Juadaism and Christianity. Rashtrapati Bhavan officials are now busy consulting religious heads of these faiths to finalise the list of plants.The concept is inspired by Kalam’s views on strengthening interaction among different religions. ‘‘All religions are very beautiful but they are islands. There is no connectivity. My mission is to provide connectivity through love and compassion,’’ he said in one of his speeches.Rashtrapati Bhavan officials said all faiths emphasise the importance of preserving the ecology and even worship different plants. A sacred garden or an all religion garden complex on the premises of Rashtrapati Bhavan will be an important contribution to the cause of religious harmony, they said.This theme was also central to the inter-religion workshop organised on his birthday last October in Gujarat after the riots. Kalam had travelled to the state only to convey the message of harmony after the post-Godhra riots.
