Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrapped up his Myanmar trip on Thursday, visiting to the ‘mazar’ of the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar and the 2,500-year-old Shwedagon pagoda and performing puja at the Kalibari Temple here.
On the last day of his three-day visit to the Buddhist-majority country, Mr. Modi visited the pagoda, considered the pinnacle of Myanmar’s cultural heritage. He planted a Bodhi tree sapling in the complex. “Delighted to visit Myanmar’s cultural landmark, the Shwedagon Pagoda,” Mr. Modi tweeted.
The 2,500-year-old pagoda, located west of the Royal Lake, enshrines strands of Buddha’s hair and other holy relics. It is covered with hundreds of gold plates. The top of the stupa is encrusted with 4,531 diamonds, the largest of which is a 72-carat diamond.
Mr. Modi also visited the Bogyoke Aung San Museum where he was accompanied by State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.
“I thank Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for the special gesture of showing me around the Bogyoke Aung San Museum. Paid tributes to General Aung San,” Mr. Modi said. He also visited the grave of Bahadur Shah Zafar and paid floral tributes. He tweeted a picture of himself at the Mughal Emperor’s grave.
Bahadur Shah Zafar, also a prolific Urdu poet and calligrapher, died aged 87 in the then Rangoon, where he was exiled by the British after the 1857 revolt.
Mr. Modi paid his respects at the Martyrs’ Mausoleum and performed ‘puja’ at the Kalibari Temple. “Performed Puja at Yangon’s Kalibari Temple. Feeling extremely blessed,” he tweeted, along with a picture of himself at the temple.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister visited the 12th-century Ananda Temple in the ancient city of Bagan. The temple is being renovated with India’s assistance after it was damaged in a tremor last year.
On Thursday afternoon, Mr. Modi left for home.
