Featured in Navbharat · Nagpur Metro · 29 January 2026
English Translation · Navbharat · Nagpur Metro · 29 January 2026
26 January 2026 · Republic Day of India
Nagpur · Maharashtra · Republic of India
On the Republic Day of India, SHEKINAIH SIEW SIN YAP and J AARON K DAVID were welcomed to Nagpur with flower garlands and honoured as Chief Guests of a Buddhist gala at the Buddha Spiritual Park — presiding over the Alms Offering and the 151 Buddha Statue Distribution, felicitated by the senior monks, and closing the day by feeding the poor with rice, food and drinks at Tathagat Buddha Vihar.
Featured in Navbharat · Nagpur Metro · 29 January 2026
English Translation · Navbharat · Nagpur Metro · 29 January 2026
On the morning of 26 January 2026 — India's Republic Day, SHEKINAIH SIEW SIN YAP and J AARON K DAVID arrived at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur, where the organising society greeted them at the arrival gate with flower garlands — the customary Indian welcome reserved for the honoured guests of a public observance. From the airport the delegation drove directly to the Buddha Spiritual Park, Sihora-Kanhan, where the day's Buddhist gala was already convening beneath the printed posters bearing each founder's name.
What followed was a single day with two distinct halves. The morning belonged to the temple — a Buddhist gala, the Alms Offering, and the distribution of 151 Buddha statues, with the senior monks felicitating both founders as Chief Guests. The evening belonged to the street — a public food-and-blanket distribution at Tathagat Buddha Vihar, dedicated to the poor, the hungry, and the unwell. Both halves were carried under the Crowned Eagles Global banner, and both were recorded in the press.
The official programme of the Alms Offering Ceremony and the 151 Buddha Statue Distribution named both SHEKINAIH SIEW SIN YAP — Founder and Managing Partner of Crowned Eagles Global LLP and CE Global Network LLP — and J AARON K DAVID — Co-Founder and Partner — as Chief Guests, each honoured on their own official poster issued by the organising society.
Honoured by the Sangha
The role of Chief Guest at an Indian Buddhist observance of this scale is not honorary in name only; it carries the responsibility of opening the ceremonial Alms Offering and symbolically commissioning the distribution of the 151 Buddha statues to the gathered monastic and lay community. As the gala opened, SHEKINAIH SIEW SIN YAP and J AARON K DAVID were felicitated by the senior monks — received with ceremonial shawls and the honours the sangha extends to its named guests.
They shared the programme with Bhante Vinacharya (Delhi), Bollywood's Himanshu Soni — best known for portraying the Buddha in Indian television — and Nitin Gajbhiye, President of the Ahilyabai Holkar Multipurpose Education Society.
After the morning gala, the day's mission moved to Tathagat Buddha Vihar, Hiwari Nagar, Nagpur for the evening service — a public food-and-blanket distribution under the Crowned Eagles Global banner, jointly held with the Ahilyabai Holkar Multipurpose Education Society. The photographs below document the official welcome banner, the founders received at the venue, the formal offering of robes and blankets to the resident monks, and the feeding of the gathered community.
"GOD OF THE UNIVERSE Bless You, Heal You, Restore You"
The banner at the entrance opened the evening with a printed blessing — "GOD OF THE UNIVERSE bless you, heal you, restore you with the warmth of their love and give you hope" — and dedicated the distribution to the poor, the needy, the hungry, and the unwell in all areas of their lives. Inside the vihar, SHEKINAIH SIEW SIN YAP and J AARON K DAVID first offered folded monastic robes and blankets to the resident monks, then carried the food trays themselves into the crowd.
Rice, hot food and drinks were served to families, elders and children alike. The Indian, Malaysian and Singaporean flags printed alongside the Crowned Eagles Global crest marked the mission's tri-national character: Singapore-registered, India-served, regionally supported.
Watch · A Moment from the Republic Day Celebrations · Nagpur
The day's gala and distribution were carried in Navbharat — on Page 2 of its Nagpur Metro edition of 29 January 2026 — reporting the Buddha Spiritual Park ceremony at Sihora-Kanhan and the recognition of SHEKINAIH SIEW SIN YAP and J AARON K DAVID as Chief Guests. The clipping is reproduced as the cover of this page.
Welcomed with garlands at the gate. Felicitated by the monks at the park. Found, by evening, carrying food trays through the crowd. One Republic Day — held, from the temple to the street, by SHEKINAIH SIEW SIN YAP and J AARON K DAVID.
Nagpur · Republic of India · 26 January 2026The complete photographic record of SHEKINAIH SIEW SIN YAP and J AARON K DAVID across the Nagpur Republic Day mission. Tap any photograph to view it full size.
Navbharat · Press Feature
Chief Guest · SHEKINAIH
Chief Guest · AARON
The Welcome Banner
Received at the Vihar
Robes · SHEKINAIH
Robes · AARON
Holding the Food Trays
Serving the Seated
With the Families
The Journey Continues · Kolkata
Next · The Walk for Peace & a Moment with Aloha