Goodwill Gesture

PM Modi gifts hand-crafted artworks to Quad leaders showcasing India’s rich cultural diversity

From Sanjhi art and box with hand carved Rogan painting to Pattamadai silk mats and Gond art painting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a glimpse of India’s rich heritage and culture as he presented gifts to his counterparts and dignitaries from the four Quad nations. PM Modi arrived in Japan on a two-day visit to attend a summit of the Quad leaders which is aimed at further bolstering cooperation among the member nations of the influential grouping and discussing developments in the IndoPacific region. He gifted a Sanjhi art panel based on the theme of Thakurani Ghat from Mathura by a national awardee to US President Joe Biden. Sanjhi, the art of hand cutting designs on paper, is an art form from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, the legendary home of Lord Krishna. Traditionally motifs from Lord Krishna stories are created in stencils. These stencils are cut freehand using scissors or a blade. The delicate Sanjhi is often held together by thin sheets of paper. Modi’s Japanese counterpart got a handcarved box with Rogan painting, an art of cloth printing practised in the Kutch District of Gujarat.