Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who concluded his visit to Denmark on Wednesday, presented gifts to leaders of the Nordic countries that reflected India’s rich cultural diversity, its deep links with mother nature, its martial traditions, age-old handicrafts and exquisite work of artisans. 

The gifts to the dignitaries from different Indian states included a Silver Meenakari Bird figure from Banaras to Crown Princess Mary, a Dokra boat from Chhattisgarh to Crown Prince Fredrik and a Rogan painting from Gujarat to Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.

The art of silver enamelling practised in Varanasi is almost 500 years old. The art has its roots in the Persian art of Meenakari (Meena is the Persian word for glass). The most distinguishing element of Banaras meenakari is the use of pink colour in various shades on various products. The base is a silver sheet and the finished product is decorated with semi-precious stones and pearls.

The Rogan painting, gifted by PM Modi to Queen Margrethe of Denmark, is an art of cloth printing practised in Kutch, Gujarat. In this craft, paint made from boiled oil & vegetable dyes is laid down on fabric using either a metal block (printing) or a stylus (painting).

The Dokra boat from Chhattisgarh, gifted to Crown Prince Fredrik of Denmark, is non-ferrous metal casting 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 Brass Tree of Life from Rajasthan, which PM Modi gifted to his Finland counterpart Sanna Marin, symbolizes the development and growth of life. The branch of a tree grows and develops upwards and contains various life forms representing inclusiveness.

Norway Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store was gifted a ‘Dhaal’ with Koftgiri art from Rajasthan by PM Modi.

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