PM Modi’s gifts for world leaders at G7 Summit

Make PDF

Various gifts by PM to world leaders-

Black Pottery pieces for Japanese PM-

• The Black Pottery of Nizamabad in Uttar Pradesh uses a special technique to bring out black colours. 
• This involves ensuring that there is no scope for oxygen to enter the oven as pottery pieces are kept inside and the heat level remains high. 
• The presence of oxygen can turn the pottery red. 
• The glaze on the pottery comes from the high zinc content of the soil and the layer of mustard oil applied before firing the pottery. 
• It comes with and without inlay. 

Dokra art to presidents of Argentina and South Africa-

• Dokra art is non-ferrous metal casting art that uses the lost-wax casting technique.
• This technique has been in use for over 4,000 years in India, and is still practised by artisans in central and eastern India.
• It is in great demand in domestic and foreign markets because of its primitive simplicity, folk motifs and forceful form.
• An art-piece from Chattisgarh, a figure of ‘Nandi – The Meditative Bull’, was presented to the Argentinian president. 
• According to Hindu mythology, Nandi is considered as the vehicle (mount) of Lord Shiva.
• For South Africa’s President, the art-piece was based on the Ramayana theme.

Gulabi Meenakari brooch, cufflink set to US president-

• Gulabi Meenakari is a GI-tagged art-form of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. 
• A piece of pure silver is moulded into a base form, and a chosen design is embossed in the metal. 
• The motifs primarily use the colour pink (Gulabi), which lends its name to the craft. 
• These cufflinks were prepared for the US president with a matching brooch for the First Lady.

Hand painted tea set to UK PM-

• A tea set from Bulandshahr district (Uttar Pradesh) was presented to the British PM, with its base form hand painted and fired at 1,200 degrees Celsius.
• In this craft form, the embossed outlines are laid on manually with a mehendi cone. Each shape is then separately filled with colour and the entire cup is fired again. 
• The crockery was outlined with platinum metal paint in honour of the Queen’s platinum jubilee being celebrated this year.

Itr bottles in Zardozi box to French president-

• Crafted in Lucknow, the Zari Zardozi box was hand embroidered on khadi silk and satin tissue in colours of the French National Flag. 
• The motifs were traditional Indo-Persian, lotus flowers hand-embroidered with metal wire in blue, and a pendant used in Kashmiri carpets and motifs from Awadhi architecture. 
• This box contained a selection of fragrances from Kannauj, produced using the 5,000-year-old traditional deg and bhapka method.
• The scents included Attar Mitti — a unique attar where petrichor, the fresh odour of first rain coming on earth is captured over sandalwood oil; Attar Shamama, capturing the essence of herbs and spices of age-old Vedic formulation; Attar Gulab — having odour most close to natural rose petal; Exotic Musk, a modern fragrance crafted with jasmine, rose and musk; and Garam Masala, to celebrate the French appreciation for good cuisine.

Marble inlay table top for Italy’s PM-

• Pietra Dura or marble inlay has its origins in opus sectile — a form of Pietra Dura popularised in the ancient and medieval Roman world where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern.
• This particular table top from Agra was made of semi-precious stones with gradients in their colour, making it very similar to Italian marble inlay work.

Metal Marodi carving matka for German Chancellor

• This nickel coated, hand-engraved brass vessel is a masterpiece from Moradabad, the “brass city” of Uttar Pradesh.
• After casting the pot, the design that has to be engraved is first sketched on paper. 
• An outline of the whole design is done with a fine engraving tool hammered with a wooden block. 
• This particular type of engraving is called Marodi, owing to the curved lines used to fill up the negative space in this design. 
• The importance of the engraving craft of Moradabad is in its ability to elevate items of everyday use into objects of intrigue.

Moonj baskets, cotton durries for Senegal’s president

• In Senegal, the tradition of hand weaving is passed down from mother to daughter, adding to its importance as a vehicle for cultural expression and family livelihood – driven by strong women. 
• The same is done in Prayagraj, Sultanpur and Amethi districts of the state of Uttar Pradesh, where Moonj or Saccharum Bengalense plant is now acting as a sustainable source of income for rural women. 
• Like Senegalese baskets, Moonj craft also utilises bright, jewel tone colours. 
• This particular piece is by a master craftswoman from Prayagraj. The cotton durries are handwoven in Sitapur.

Lacquerware Ram Durbar to Indonesian president-

• The GI-tagged lacquerware art-form has its roots in the temple town of Varanasi. 
• The process is a tedious one, requiring assembly of a base wooden form with separate limbs, which is covered layered by layer with distemper or lac-based paint. The items always come in bright, jewel tones. 
• This particular piece is made of Goolar wood. 
• The principal characters in the artwork are Lord Ram, Sita, Hanuman and Jatayu. 
• It is believed that the Indonesian version of Ramayana was written during the Medang Kingdom (8th to 11th century) in Central Java. 
• The story of Ramayana was narrated to the people through shadow puppetry (wayang kulit and wayang purwa).

Hand-knotted Kashmiri silk carpet to Canada’s PM-

• These carpets are famous all over the world for their softness and craftsmanship. 
• Each Kashmiri silk carpet is considered to be a never-before-seen piece of hand-made art. 
• The Kashmiri silk carpets, made predominantly in Srinagar, are hand-knotted on the warp threads, one at a time, in accordance to a strict code of colours in the order of their appearance in the pattern. 
• The knotted product is clipped with shears to smoothness, and then treated with several brightening processes.

Make PDF