New Delhi: Heads of states from across the world and other leaders who attended the G20 Summit here were gifted a curated collection of handcrafted artefacts and products that speak volumes about India’s rich cultural traditions, officials said on Tuesday.
Some of the gifts were meticulously hand-crafted by master artisans of the country, they said.
The gift items included saffron from Kashmir, sheesham wood chests with brass patti, Pekoe Darjeeling and Nilgiri tea, Araku coffee, Kashmiri Pashmina shawl, Sundarbans multiflora mangrove honey and Zighrana ‘ittar’ (perfume oil) from Uttar Pradesh’s Kannauj, they said.
The G20 Summit was held at the newly-built Bharat Mandapam at Pragati Maidan from September 9-10.
It was attended by US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron, among other world leaders.
The Government of India gifted the leaders a curated collection of handcrafted artefacts and products that speak volumes about India’s rich cultural traditions, the officials said.
“Some of the products gifted to them are those of centuries of tradition and cherished across the world for their unparalleled workmanship and quality,” a senior official said.
A Khadi scarf and a coin box containing G20 commemorative coins were also gifted to visiting leaders by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi gifted items representing the culture of India to spouses of the world leaders, according to the officials.
For the spouse of President of Argentina, Prime Minister Modi gifted a Banarasi silk stole kept in an ebony ‘jaali’ box, they said.
Handcrafted in Varanasi, luxurious silk threads create intricate patterns, reflecting the city’s cultural richness and its weaving heritage.
He gifted a Kashmiri Pashmina stole kept in a papier mache box, to the spouse of Prime Minister of Australia.
Spouse of Brazilian President Luiz In cio Lula da Silva also was gifted a Kashmiri Pashmina stole kept in a papier mache box.
An Assam stole kept in a kadam wood ‘jaali’ box was gifted to Yuko Kishida, spouse of Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida.
This box has been handcrafted with lattice work by artisans of Kerala
Prime Minister Modi gifted Akshata Murty, wife of UK Prime Minister Sunak, a Banarasi stole kept in a kadam wood box, handcrafted by artisans of Karnataka, the officials said.
The gift for the spouse of Prime Minister of Mauritius was an Ikkat stole in a teak wood box, officials said.
Modi gifted a Banarasi silk stole kept in an ebony ‘jaali’ box to the spouse of Prime Minister of Spain. The box has been handcrafted by artisans of Kerala using delicate lattice work, on the extremely dense and fine textured Indian ebony wood, they said.
(PTI)

Press Trust of India