Berlin spreads Guru Nanak's message by planting saplings

As the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, is being celebrated throughout the world this year, his message of love, peace, equality and brotherhood is being brought to the wider world -- both by the Sikhs and by Indian missions abroad.

As a rare event in Berlin, Germany, the Sri Guru Singh Sabha and the cultural organization Punjabi Association joined the Ambassador of India Mukta Dutta Tomar, Green Party Member of German Parliament Omid Nouripour and Barbara John, former Senator responsible for international communities, to plant saplings.

They planted five field maple or soapberry saplings in Berlin to mark the 550th birth anniversary in Germany of the first Sikh Guru.

The event on Friday, coordinated by the Indian embassy and conceived by Minister Personnel of the Indian Embassy T.V. Ravichandran, involved German parliamentarians of different faiths to reflect the secular mode of Guru's life and the secular character of the Indian nation.

Berlin played an important role in facilitating the event and the police too provided extra ordinary arrangements to regulate traffic at the function spot, organisers said.