New Delhi, June 28
For foreign dignitaries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often chosen gifts that reflect India’s rich cultural and artistic traditions and it was no different this time as he presented a variety of gifts to heads of governments at the G7 summit. products were selected.
It was the distinctive artistic products identified with various regions of Uttar Pradesh and other states that were very much to their liking, in which the US President received ‘pink enamel’; receiving a GI-tagged artform, cufflinks set and brooch from Varanasi and a metal ‘Jordi-carving matka’ to the German Chancellor; Considered a masterpiece of Moradabad, official sources said on Tuesday.
He said Modi gifted a black earthen pot to the Japanese Prime Minister from Nizamabad in Uttar Pradesh and a platinum-painted tea set to his British counterpart.
He gifted the French President bottles of ‘Ittar’ (perfume obtained from natural sources) in ‘Zardozi’ box prepared in Lucknow.
Referring to Senegal’s tradition of a mother hand-weaving her daughter, sources said Modi chose ‘moonj’ baskets and cotton dari (heavy run) for the country’s president.
Sources said the practice is considered a vehicle for cultural expression and family livelihood driven by strong women, adding the products have their origins in Prayagraj, Sultanpur and Amethi districts of Uttar Pradesh.
With the Ramayana tradition being an enduring part of Indonesian culture, Modi gifted the lacquerware ‘Ram Darbar’ to its president. The GI tagged lacquerware art-form has its roots in the temple city of Varanasi, which incidentally is the constituency that represents Modi in the Lok Sabha.
Sources said the Prime Minister gifted his Canadian counterpart a hand-woven silk carpet, which is an exclusive product of Kashmir.
‘Dokra’ art with Ramayana and ‘Nandi’ themes were his gifts of choice to the Presidents of South African and Argentina respectively.
Dokra art is a non-ferrous metal casting art that uses lost wax casting techniques, and it has been in India for more than 4,000 years, he said, adding that both products are from Chhattisgarh.
Modi on Tuesday left for the United Arab Emirates after attending a productive G-7 summit in Germany and holding talks with several world leaders.
While sharing the details of these various artifacts, official sources mentioned that in ‘Pulabi Meenakari’, a piece of pure silver is molded as a base and the chosen design is engraved on the metal. The raised figures are then filled with great skill with ‘meena’ glass crushed with natural ‘anardana’ (pomegranate seed) gum. It is then fired to turn it into a translucent colored patch.
What sets it apart from other ‘meenakari’ is a layer of white ‘meena’ that acts as an opaque canvas for hand-painted motifs, said to be mainly of the color pink (pink). which gives the craft its name. ,
Sources said the cufflinks were designed for US President Joe Biden with a matching brooch for his wife.
The ‘Ittar’ containing zari zardozi boxes has been hand engraved in the colors of the French flag on Khadi silk and satin tissue, he said.