GUWAHATI: For practical purposes, Donyi Polo airport that PM Narendra Modi opened on Saturday in the frontier state of Arunachal Pradesh will keep an eye on the sky. At the spiritual level, it will be under the watchful eyes of Donyi (sun) and Polo (moon) — the main deities in the ancient animistic tradition of the easternmost Himalayan state’s vast majority.
This is the country’s first airport to be named after the sun and moon. Elsewhere, airports are usually known by their location or named after people such as exPrime Ministers, ex-CMs and freedom fighters.
“The name of the airport reflects the traditions and rich cultural heritage of Arunachal Pradesh and its ageold indigenous reverence for the sun (Donyi) and the moon (Polo),” Modi said.
“And I also see a lesson for development in the Donyi Polo culture of Arunachal. Light is the same, but the light of the sun and the coolness of the moon have their own importance, and power. Similarly, when we talk about development, whether it is big projects or public welfare schemes that reach the poor, both are important aspects of development,” PM Modi said.
Prabin Kalita is a journalist at The Times of India and is curren...
Read MorePrabin Kalita is a journalist at The Times of India and is currently the Chief of Bureau (northeast). He has been reporting in mainstream Indian national media since 2001. He has been a field journalist reporting gamut of issues from India’s northeastern region and major developments in neighbouring countries like Myanmar, China, Bhutan and Bangladesh concerning India and northeastern region. He has been covering insurgency—internal and cross-border, politics, natural calamities, environment etc. He is a post-graduate in Geological Sciences from Gauhati University.
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