Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday autographed a sketch depicting him and Lord Buddha, as he received a warm welcome by the Indian community in Nepal's Lumbini.
In a video shared by news agency ANI, PM Modi was seen signing a sketch of him and Lord Buddha while people gathered around him chanted slogans of Vande Mataram.
While, the PM also interacted with people from Indian community gathered for his welcome, some also offered him bouquet while some also touched his feet.
Meanwhile, the prime minister along with his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba performed the shilanyaas ceremony for the construction of the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage in the Lumbini Monastic Zone.
The Centre will be constructed by the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), New Delhi, on a plot allocated to IBC by the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT), under an agreement between IBC and LDT signed in March 2022, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
After the shilanyaas ceremony, which was performed by monks belonging to three major Buddhist traditions, Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana, the two Prime Ministers also unveiled a model of the Centre, he said.
Once completed, the Centre will be a world-class facility welcoming pilgrims and tourists from all over the world to enjoy the essence of spiritual aspects of Buddhism.
It will be a modern building, NetZero compliant in terms of energy, water and waste handling, and will house prayer halls, meditation centers, library, exhibition hall, cafeteria, offices and other amenities, the MEA added.
(with agency inputs)
