1 February 2026 · Maghi Purnima
Kolkata · West Bengal · Republic of India
On Maghi Purnima — the full moon of the holy Magha month — SHEKINAIH SIEW SIN YAP and J AARON K DAVID were honoured as Special Guests of the Walking-PEACE procession in Kolkata, walking at the head of the Tollygunge Sambodhi · 75 Years of Peace march beside the senior monastics — pausing for a quiet moment with Aloha, the monastery's rescued temple dog, and receiving commemorative 75 Years of Peace plaques.
Walking-PEACE Poster · SHEKINAIH SIEW SIN YAP
Walking-PEACE Poster · J AARON K DAVID
Maghi Purnima is among the most sacred full-moon observances in the Indian Buddhist calendar — a day given to peace, remembrance, and the gathering of the faithful. On that morning in Regent Park, Kolkata, SHEKINAIH SIEW SIN YAP and J AARON K DAVID were invited to walk at the very head of the Walking-PEACE procession, beside the senior monastics of the Tollygunge Moore Avenue Buddha Samity — the historic monastery that has anchored the city's Buddhist life since 1949.
At the Head of the Procession
As the procession set out, the saffron-robed elders of the Tollygunge Sambodhi monastery took the front rank — and with them, hands on the same length of cloth, walked SHEKINAIH SIEW SIN YAP and J AARON K DAVID, bearing the Platinum Jubilee Peace Procession banner the length of Moore Avenue. To be handed the banner is no courtesy extended to onlookers; it is the place a community reserves for those it wishes to be seen leading.
The morning carried a single theme — "Ahimsa · Karuna · Coexistence: Compassion Knows No Boundaries" — and a single occasion: seventy-five years of the monastery's peace and social service. The Kolkata walk was one node in a wider circle of peace processions convened under the UNPKFC framework, and it placed two visitors from Singapore at the symbolic head of an Indian Buddhist observance — an honour, and a quiet statement of trust.
At the Head of the Walking-PEACE Procession · 75 Years of Peace · Regent Park, Kolkata
Walk with Peace
Before the ceremonial photographs began, SHEKINAIH SIEW SIN YAP and J AARON K DAVID knelt for a quiet moment with Aloha — a rescued dog cared for by the resident monastics of the Tollygunge Sambodhi Buddhist Monastery. The saffron bandana around his neck marked him as one of the monastery's family, and the Buddhist flag flew above as the morning observance began.
Aside from the plaques, the keynote photographs and the senior-monastic portrait, this was the unscripted moment that told the larger truth of the visit — that the founders' attention extended past the formal recognitions, to the gentlest creature in the monastery's care. A walk for peace, kept company by a rescued friend.
A quiet moment with Aloha · Tollygunge Sambodhi, Kolkata
In the formal presentation that followed the procession, SHEKINAIH SIEW SIN YAP and J AARON K DAVID were called forward by the monastery's leadership and presented their 75 Years of Peace commemorative plaques — beneath the framed inscription of Rabindranath Tagore in the monastery's reception hall.
The Conferment
The plaques formally name SHEKINAIH SIEW SIN YAP and J AARON K DAVID — with full citation — as Special Guests of the Walk for Peace and Peace Day Observation, Kolkata, February 1, 2026. The presentation took place in a hall whose hosts place ceremonial weight on the literary and spiritual lineage of Bengal itself.
Within the Sangha
Following the conferment, SHEKINAIH SIEW SIN YAP and J AARON K DAVID were invited to stand among the senior monastics for the formal observance portrait. The multi-coloured Buddhist flags — the standard of Theravāda observance recognised globally — were placed in their hands by the hosting monastery, a gesture extended only on the most significant ceremonial days.
In the Hall
After the procession and the conferment, the observance moved into the monastery's symposium hall. SHEKINAIH SIEW SIN YAP and J AARON K DAVID were seated in the front row — the customary position reserved for the day's named Special Guests — wearing the ceremonial scarves placed upon them during the welcoming. The hall filled behind them with students of Sister Nivedita University and members of the monastery's lay community.
The commemorative 75 Years of Peace plaques presented to SHEKINAIH SIEW SIN YAP and J AARON K DAVID at the Tollygunge Sambodhi Buddhist Monastery, Kolkata. Click either plaque to view it full size.
Special Guest · Singapore
Special Guest · Singapore
Not as observers. As the hands holding the banner, the guests seated in the front row, and the two who knelt in the grass for a rescued dog named Aloha — SHEKINAIH SIEW SIN YAP and J AARON K DAVID walked Kolkata's Maghi Purnima for peace.
Walking-PEACE · Tollygunge Sambodhi · Kolkata · 1 February 2026The complete photographic record of SHEKINAIH SIEW SIN YAP and J AARON K DAVID across the Walking-PEACE observance. Tap any photograph to view it full size.
Walking-PEACE · SHEKINAIH
Walking-PEACE · AARON
At the Head of the Procession
A Moment with Aloha
The Conferment
Holding the Buddhist Flags
Front Row · Symposium Hall
SHEKINAIH · Plaque Close-Up
The Kolkata Visit Continues
Next · Sister Nivedita University · The Award & The Worship