Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore will virtually inaugurate a unique environmental landmark in Chandigarh — the Museum of Trees – to commemorate the 551st birth anniversary celebrations of the first Sikh master, Guru Nanak Dev, on November 30.

Conceived and curated by former IAS officer and author DS Jaspal, the Museum of Trees nestled near the Chandigarh Railway Station comprises a sacred grove created out of genetic clones of 12 sacred trees associated with the Sikh religion.

The naming of sacred Sikh shrines after trees is unique to the religion. As many as 59 Sikh shrines are named after 19 such trees.

The project, first-of-its-kind in the world, has been funded by the Ministry of Culture and promoted by the Chandigarh Nature and Health Society, a registered NGO. It is India's only outdoor walk-through museum where visitors can see replicas of different trees considered sacred by the Sikh community.

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Alongside each tree eight-foot-high panels have been set up, carrying a picture of the tree, along with a description of its botanical features as well as the association between it and the historical and religious shrine it is associated with.

To preserve and propagate the surviving sacred trees within various gurdwaras by reproducing true genotypes of the parent trees, the museum has successfully reproduced genetic replicas of 12 sacred trees — including at 'Dukh Bhanjani' ber (jujube) tree at the Golden Temple in Amritsar; the 'ber' tree at Gurdwara Ber Sahib, Sultanpur Lodhi; and 'ber' tree at Gurdwara Babe-di-Ber, Sialkot, Pakistan. (IANS)