From zardozi box to Platinum tea set: Gifts that PM Modi gave to world leaders in Germany

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met a host of world leaders in Germany while attending the G7 summit. During his meeting with world leaders, he also presented them with gifts that showcased India's rich craftsmanship, culture and heritage. Let's take a look:

Gift: Black Pottery
Gifted to: Japan PM Fumio Kishida

What is it: The Black Pottery of Nizamabad in Uttar Pradesh uses a special technique to bring out black colours -- while the pottery is inside the oven, it is ensured that oxygen cannot enter the oven and the heat remains at a high level. 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. The pottery comes both with and without the inlay. In the inlaid pottery box, silver metal powder has been used for inlay. The circles are hand carved and then filled with metallic powder. The entire vessel is then fired one last time.
 

Gift: Dokra Art with Ramayana Theme
Gifted to: South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa

What is it: Dokra Art is non–ferrous metal casting art using the lost-wax casting technique. This sort of metal casting has been used in India for over 4,000 years and is still used. The product is in great demand in domestic and international markets because of enchanting folk motifs, primitive simplicity and forceful form. This particular art-piece from Chattisgarh is based on the Ramayan theme. The principal characters in the artwork are Lord Shri Ram riding an Elephant along with Lakshman, Goddess Sita and Lord Hanuman.

Gift: Nandi-themed Dokra Art
Gifted to: Argentina President Alberto Fernández

What is it: Dokra Art is non–ferrous metal casting art using the lost-wax casting technique. For the last 4,000 years, This sort of metal casting has been in use in India. This particular art piece from Chattisgarh is a figure of ‘Nandi -- The Meditative Bull’. According to Hindu mythology Nandi is considered the vehicle (mount) of Lord Shiva, the lord of destruction. 

Gift: Gulabi Meenakari brooch and cufflink
Gifted to: US President Joe Biden

What is it: 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 the chosen design is embossed in the metal. The embossed shapes are then filled with great dexterity with crushed Meena glass mixed with an intriguing natural 'anardana' (pomegranate seeds) glue. This is then fired to transform into a translucent coloured patch. What distinguishes it from other meenakari is the layer of white Meena which acts as an opaque canvas for hand-painted motifs. The paint is fired layer by layer for permanence. The motifs primarily use the colour pink (Gulabi), which lends its name to the craft. The cufflinks were prepared for the President with a matching brooch for the First Lady.

Gift: Platinum painted Tea Set
Gifted to: British PM Boris Johnson

What is it: Encased here is a tea set from Bulandhshahr district of Uttar Pradesh. The base form is hand-painted and fired at 1200 degrees Celsius. The embossed outlines are laid on manually with Mehndi cone work and require an extremely confident hand. Each shape is then separately filled with colour, with great dexterity and the entire cup is fired again. The crockery has been outlined with platinum metal paint in honour of Her Majesty the Queen’s platinum jubilee being celebrated this year.

Gift: Itr bottles in zardozi box
Gifted to: French President Emmanuel Macron

What is it: The carrier box has been crafted in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The Zari Zardozi box has been hand embroidered on khadi silk and satin tissue in the colours of the French National Flag. The motifs are 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 includes: 

Attar Mitti: A unique attar produced in Kannauj, India where Petrichor -- the fresh odour of the first rain coming on earth is captured over sandalwood oil. It has an earthy wet natural aroma, produced by the 5000-year-old traditional deg and bhapka method by distilling especially selected baked soil over Sandalwood oil.

Jasmine Oil: An exclusive natural oil production of freshly plucked flowers of Bela (Jasmine sambac) produced by careful hydro distillation to capture the unique most close to the natural fresh floral sweet green odour of freshly plucked flower of Bela.

Attar Shamama: An unique attar capturing the essence of a number of herbs & spices of age-old Vedic formulation over Sandalwood oil to produce an attar having warm spicy, herbaceous, oriental notes which is very difficult to replicate. 

Attar Gulab: An attar having odour most close to natural rose petal produced by hydrodistillation in a copper vessel so as to avoid overheating of the petals. 

Exotic Musk: A modern masculine fragrance crafted with the opulence of Jasmine, extravagant sensuality of Rose and the provocative charm of warm, woody note of Musk as its base note.

Garam Masala: To celebrate the French appreciation for a strongly grounded cuisine, the newly formulated liquid Garam Masala has been added. It is an edible natural oil combination of extracts & essential oils of the Iconic Indian spice blend of Garam Masala,  which is very difficult to replicate.

Gift: Marble Inlay table top 
Gifted to: Italy PM Mario Draghi

What is it: Pietra dura or Marble inlay has its origins in the Opus sectile- a form of pietra dura popularized in the ancient and medieval Roman world where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. This marble table top has its origin in Agra. This particular table top is made of semi-precious stones with gradients in their colour, making it very similar to Italian marble inlay work. Stones with colour gradients are harder to place, but make the inlay more realistic. The delicate process involves cutting and engraving semi-precious stones on marble manually. To start with, a pre-defined pattern e.g., a floral design or a geometrical design, is engraved on the marble item. Small pieces of different semi-precious stones are then cut delicately. These small pieces are then slipped into grooves, making the simple marble item a beautiful and colourful masterpiece of art.

Gift: Metal Marodi carving matka 
Gifted to: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

What is it: This nickel-coated, hand-engraved brass vessel is a masterpiece from District Moradabad, which is also known as the Peetal Nagari or 'brass city' of Uttar Pradesh, India. After casting the pot, the design that has to be engraved is first sketched on paper. The outline of the design is done using an engraving tool hammered with a wooden block. This particular type of engraving is called Marodi, owing to the curved lines used to fill up 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.

Gift: Moonj baskets and cotton durries 
Gifted to: Senegal President Macky Sall

What is it: 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 Uttar Pradesh, where Moonj Saccharum bengalense is now acting as a sustainable source of income for rural women. Made of sustainably-sourced material, Moonj is a utilitarian handicraft. Moonj craft also has bright, jewel-tone colours like Senegalese baskets. 

Cotton Durries are hand woven in UP's Sitapur district. Manjak loincloth weaving is similar to shuttle handloom work done in Sitapur durrie making.

Gift: Lacquerware Ram Durbar 
Gifted to: Indonesia President Joko Widodo

What is it: The GI-tagged lacquerware art-form has its roots in Varanasi. Coveted souvenirs like wooden statues of gods, goddesses and sacred animals are brought by pilgrims who visit the temple town. The process is tedious, requiring the assembly of a base wooden form with separate limbs. This is covered layered by layer with lac-based paint or distemper. 

This piece is made on Goolar (Botanical name: Ficus Racemosa) wood. The principal characters in the artwork are Lord Ram, Goddess Sita, Lord Hanuman and Jatayu. The Indonesian version of Ramayana is believed to have been written during the Medang Kingdom (732-1006 AD) in Central Java. It is known as Kakawin Ramayana, where shadow puppetry is used to narrate the story of Ramayana.

Gift: Hand-knotted Silk Carpet
Gifted to: Canada PM Justin Trudeau

What is it: The hand-knotted silk carpets are famous all over the world for their softness and craftsmanship. The Kashmiri Silk carpet is known for its luxury, perfectness and dedicated craftsmanship. Every Kashmiri Silk carpet is a never-before-seen piece of hand-made art.

The Kashmiri silk carpets are made predominantly in the Srinagar area of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir in India. These exquisite creations 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.