NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW: Continuing with his efforts to highlight India’s soft power on the global stage, PM Narendra Modi gifted a variety of products to heads of governments at the G7 meet.
Distinct artistic products identified with different UP regions featured heavily in the PM’s gift choices, with the US President receiving
Gulabi Meenakari
, a GI-tagged art form of Varanasi, cufflink set & brooch and the German chancellor getting metal marodi-carving matka, a masterpiece from Moradabad. Modi also gifted ‘ittar’ in zardozi box to the French President.
PM gifts Japan PM pottery, BoJo tea set
PM Narendra Modi gifted black pottery pieces, which are from Nizamabad in UP, to the Japanese PM and a handcrafted platinum-painted tea set to his British counterpart Boris Johnson. He gifted ittar (perfume derived from natural sources) bottles in zardozi box, crafted in Lucknow, to French President
Emmanuel Macron
and marble inlay with its roots in Agra, table top to the Italian PM.
Noting that the tradition of hand-weaving is passed down from mother to daughter in Senegal, sources said Modi chose moonj baskets and cotton durries (heavy run) for the country’s President. With the Ramayana tradition an enduring part of Indonesian culture, Modi gifted lacquerware “Ram Durbar” to its President.
The PM gifted hand-knotted silk carpet, a signature product from Kashmir, to his Canadian counterpart, the sources said.
The cufflinks were prepared for US President Joe Biden with a matching brooch for his wife, the sources said. TNN
