On the occasion of the 551st birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore will inaugurate a unique environmental landmark in Chandigarh- the Museum of Trees.
Conceived and curated by ex-IAS officer and author DS Jaspal, the Museum of Trees is a sacred grove created out of genetically true replicas of sacred trees of Sikhism. The naming of sacred shrines after trees is unique to the Sikh religion. As many as 59 Sikh shrines are named after 19 such trees.
The Museum of Trees project, the first of its kind in the world, has been funded by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India and is promoted by the Chandigarh Nature and Health Society, a registered NGO. It is India’s only outdoor walkthrough museum where visitors can see genetically true replicas of different sacred trees.
Alongside each tree are eight foot high panels that carry a picture of the tree, along with a description of its botanical features as well as the relationship between the tree and the historical and religious background of the shrine.
To preserve and propagate the surviving sacred trees by reproducing true genotypes of the parent trees, the museum has successfully reproduced genetically true replicas of twelve sacred trees including Dukh Bhanjani ber tree of Golden Temple; Ber tree of Gurdwara Ber Sahib, Sultanpur Lodi; Ber tree of Gurdwara Babe-di-Ber, Sialkot, Pakistan. Due to Covid, a virtual event will be conducted where ex-member of parliament and chairman, Minorities Commission, Sardar Tarlochan Singh and PHDCCI President Karan Gilhotra will also be seen.
