Foreword and Acknowledgement
It gives me great pleasure to introduce the “Nepal-India Religious & Spiritual Circuit” as part of an initiative lead by the Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce & Industry (NICCI) in order to develop and enhance bilateral tourism between Nepal and India. NICCI has brought this project to life by connecting and bringing together, on one platform, knowledge from a number of experts.
NICCI has focused on religious tourism and spirituality, which ‘have long been an integral motive for undertaking journeys and [are] usually considered the oldest form of non-economic travel (Jackowski and Smith 1992).’ Especially during times of uncertainty, like the pandemic brought in the last two years, religious and spiritual tourism can bring some faith and hope.
Tourism is vital to the success of the economy and cultural development of countries around the world. It enhances our understanding of different cultures and values and it contributes to enhanced wellbeing of travellers.
Nepal and India have always cherished the deep-rooted friendship between our countries. We have the connectivity of our trade and commerce ties, the connectivity through transport and also the connectivity of our people. NICCI hopes to continue to bring together our countries and facilitate a platform for discussion and action between Nepal and India. One way NICCI has continued to work on further enhancing bi-lateral relations is by promoting and enhancing religious and spiritual tourism between Nepal and India. This project highlights and promotes India and Nepal’s religious ties and illustrates how porous and interlinked our cultures are by creating a visual representation for our viewers.
I would like to take a moment to thank all of the experts who have contributed their work to help make this project come to life. The knowledge products (website and coffee table book) would not have happened without your expertise, contribution and support.
We are eternally grateful for the knowledge, workings and support from all our experts: (1) Dr. Basudev Krishna Shastri and team for their knowledge and expertise in the Shiva Shakti and Ramayan Circuits in Nepal (2) Dr. Hari Prasad Adhikari and Acharya Pandit Tek Narayan Upadhaya and their team for their work on the Shiva Shakti Circuit, India (3) Dr. Ramesh Dhungel for his knowledge and expertise in the Mahabharat Circuit, Nepal, along with a few spiritual inputs from Dr. Pabitra Khadka (4) Ms. Neera Misra for her work on the Mahabharat and Ramayan Circuits, India (5) Mr. Bikram PandE Kaaji, with support from Dr. Ramesh Dhungel for their work on the Buddhist Circuit, Nepal (6) Mr. Deepak Anand for his expertise on the Buddhist Circuit, India (7) Mr. Gyani Gurbakash Singh, Sardar Pritam Singh and Ms. Rupy Singh for their guidance and support on Sikh Circuit, Nepal (8) Mr. Rajinder Singh Chadha and team for his support and contribution to the Sikh Circuit, India.
Furthermore, we are thankful for the support from H.E. Manjeev Singh Puri for letting us use some of his workings from ‘Sikhs Heritage of Nepal’. We would also like to thank Sardar Pritam and Ms. Rupy Singh and Ms. Kiran Sandhu for their guidance and support on the Sikh Circuit, Nepal.
Mr. Anil Thaman for sharing photos on the Sikh Circuit, Nepal, Mr. Bikram Chandra Majumdar and Mr. Kiran Gothe and team for their hard work in making our vision a reality through the design of the coffee table book and website.
We are also grateful to Mr. Anurag Verma for thoroughly reviewing and editing the workings. We would also like to thank Ms. Bobby Malla, Ms. Palas Joshi and Ms. Sarad Pradhan for their feedback in regards to editing. We would also like to thank Mr. Ram Bahadur Kunwar, Director, Department of Archeology, Government of Nepal along with the Foreign Ministry of Nepal for reviewing the book and providing their input. Additionally, this project would never have been completed without the support from our NICCI Secretariat Team Mr. Saibal Ghosh (VP), Mr. Sunil KC (VP), Mr. KM Singh (Director General). We would like to especially thank Mr. Marshal Rathour (Deputy Director) and Ms. Luja Mathema, NICCI consultant for their tireless work, review and coordination for the project.
We express our gratitude to, The Embassy of India in Nepal, The Embassy of Nepal in India, and the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and those sponsors/contributors that supported and believed in this project. All your encouragement and contribution has helped make this project a reality.
Mrs. Shreejana Rana
President, Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI)
