New Delhi: Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko took a morning stroll at the beautiful Lodhi Gardens and interacted with schoolchildren, diplomats and a section of lay people on their historic visit here.
The royal couple took an early morning stroll at the Bada Gumbad Gardens and expressed interest in various trees and plants, especially the Asoka and the Peepul, pointing to them as they walked on the lawns.
The national Bonsai park inside the gardens also caught their interest.
“The Emperor took a lot of interest in the flora and fauna. He was very curious about the Asoka tree, because you know it was the Buddha who had carried the Asoka tree to Japan, so perhaps that was why he was interested,” said S K Mathur, advisor, floriculture, NDMC, who was among those who escorted the royals around the garden.
Mathur said the Emperor appreciated the bamboo collection and the bonsai plants.
“He was impressed with the Buddha coconut tree and wanted a plant of this. We are trying to work out something. He also expressed wish to have a plant of the Neem, a tree, of which every part, I told him, contained medicinal properties.” Spread over 95 acre and 38 hectares, Lodhi Gardens, which houses the tombs of Mohammed Shah and Sikander Lodi, contains architectural works of the 15th century Pashtun dynasty.
It is also home to around 300 species of flowers and 50 species of birds and also contains a public national Bonsai park.
As the royal couple entered the Lodhi Gardens, school children raised their right hands in a wiggle, a traditional Japanese greeting.
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