In a gesture that promotes communal amity, a 21-year-old Muslim woman from Pakistan who is on a visit here, will carry an idol of Goddess Saraswati as a gift for her Hindu friend in Karachi.
The woman, a resident of Karachi in Pakistan, bought the idol of the goddess from a local market yesterday.
"I had asked my Hindu friend, who is my colleague at a company in Karachi (where both of them work), about the gift she wanted from me. She told me to bring an idol of a devi (goddess) for her. I am taking this idol for her," the woman told PTI here.
She said that not only are they both close friends, but their families also have good relations.
"She had told me to bring the idol of devi. I chose Saraswati's idol after coming to know that she is worshipped here as the goddess of knowledge and wisdom. My friend is also very fond of acquiring knowledge. Hope she would be blessed after getting this idol," the woman said.
She said her mother had also during her visit to Harda last year bought an idol of Lord Ganesha.
"About a year back, my mother had visited Harda. She had taken the idol of Lord Ganesha with her. My friend was very happy to get that idol," she said.
The woman's maternal uncle, who is a resident of Harda, said he felt happy when her niece expressed the desire to buy the idol of Goddess Saraswati.
"My niece told me to take her to the market to buy the idol for her friend. Such a gesture would encourage communal amity not only in India but also in Pakistan. I hope that relations between both the countries would improve," he said.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)