A saree featuring photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is being promoted at a shop in Lucknow’s Ganeshganj area, adding to the internet’s long-running “Melodi” fascination.
A saree featuring photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is being promoted at a shop in Lucknow’s Ganeshganj area, adding to the internet’s long-running “Melodi” fascination. Videos and social media posts circulating online identify the store as Gulati Peepal Wale, showcasing the saree and referring to it as a “Modi-Meloni” saree.
How did Modi and Meloni become a saree print?
In December 2023, PM Modi and Meloni met on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai. On December 1, Meloni posted a selfie with PM Modi on X, captioning it “Good friends at COP28” and adding the hashtag #Melodi. The term blended their names and quickly became an internet shorthand for the duo.
PM Modi also shared the selfie, calling the meeting a pleasure. From there, “Melodi” continued to surface across social media whenever the two leaders appeared together.
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But in 2026, the meme received another powerful boost.
The Melody Toffee Moment
During PM Modi’s visit to Italy on May 19 and 20, he met Meloni in Rome as the two countries moved to deepen bilateral ties. India and Italy agreed to elevate their relationship to a Special Strategic Partnership, expanding cooperation across trade, defence, technology, education and other sectors.
Yet, it was an informal exchange that stole the internet’s attention.
PM Modi handed Meloni a packet of Melody toffees.
A video of the moment went viral, reigniting the pun between “Melody” and “Melodi”. Reuters reported that the video crossed more than 110 million views within six hours.
The clip had triggered another flood of memes and social media posts featuring the two leaders.
