PM Modi presents various cultural treasures to Vietnamese President To Lam
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday presented a carefully curated selection of gifts — reflecting the country`s rich spiritual, artistic and cultural traditions — to Vietnamese President To Lam during his three-day visit to India. The gifts included the specially developed Namoh 108 lotus, a handcrafted brass Buddha sculpture with a Bodhi tree motif, and exquisite silk fabric from Varanasi. Each item carried deep symbolic and cultural significance, showcasing India`s heritage and craftsmanship. Among the most distinctive gifts was the Namoh 108 lotus, a unique variety of India`s national flower developed by the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) in Uttar Pradesh`s Lucknow. The flower is considered significant not only botanically but also spiritually, as it acts as a “living bridge” between India`s ancient traditions and modern scientific achievement. The lotus was specially developed with exactly 108 petals, a number considered sacred in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. The number 108 is associated with meditation malas, sacred sites across the Indian subcontinent and several cosmic calculations in Vedic traditions, making the flower a representation of spiritual completeness …


