India today suggested to Nepal that it could promote the Bishnumati River Guru Nanak shrine where the first Sikh Guru visited 500 years ago as a centre for religious tourism.
Guru Nanak visited the river bank in Kathmandu 497 years ago when the Malla dynasty was ruling Nepal, said Sirdar Pritam Singh of Guru Nanak Satsang in Kathmandu.
When the King of Nepal learnt that an Indian spiritual guru is in Kathmandu, he tried to meet him to seek treatment for his ill son.
However, Nanak had already left for Varanasi. The King then visited Varanasi and met the guru and his son was subsequently cured. The happy King then donated some land in Kathmandu to Guru Nanak for establishing the shrine, Singh said.
"If the Bishnumati Guru Nanak shrine can be developed as an important pilgrimage site, international visitors and pilgrims can be attracted, which can promote tourism in Nepal," said Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae during Guru Nanak's 546th birth anniversary celebration.
