A monument in Stone

Genuine relics of Buddha, bones donated by the Mahabodhi society have been enshrined in the Global Pagoda. The site will also have two smaller Pagodas beside it. "Though these smaller Pagodas have no real functional purpose, they will be used to display information about Buddha and about other meditation courses etc," says Khandhar.

There will also be a meditation centre, where Buddha's teachings will be disseminated and ten-day courses will be made available to those interested. "The Burmese initially modelled their pagodas after the Shanti Stupa as a means of expressing their gratitude since it was from India that the Buddha set out. Now we are showing the Burmese gratitude for bringing his teachings back to us," Khandhar adds.

ALSO READ

Campus placements: IIT Bombay targets 100 companies in phase-II

‘Babasaheb Ambedkar a prisoner of caste politics, his relevance will grow’: Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh president Prakash Ambedkar

From anger to anguish

We deal with birth and death daily, but some deaths leave a void, say doctors