A souvenir with love from India: Modi gifted a handwoven silk portrait to Xi Jinping on second informal summit

Chennai, October 12: Exploring the rich heritage of India’s monuments, Mamallapuram has played a pivotal role in redefining the bilateral relation between India and China. The second informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping intensified the camaraderie shared by the two leaders. As a gesture of gratitude and love from India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented a handwoven silk portrait of Xi Jinping to the Chinese President on the second day of the informal summit between both the leaders in Mamallapuram on Saturday.

The beautiful portrait was created by the master weavers of Sri Ramalinga Sowdambigai Handloom Weavers Co-operative Society in Sirumugaipudur in Coimbatore District. Chinese President Xi’s face was intricately woven in gold on a red background with floral patterns on both sides of the portrait. The portrait was made by using pure mulberry silk and ‘zari’ or gold threads. A 240 Hooks Electronic Jacquard helped encode the portrait pattern into the design punch cards that created the thread patterns used by the weavers. The warp and weft used was 20/22 Denier Silk along with half fine zari.

PM Modi also gifted a Thanjavur painting featuring Goddess Saraswati and a traditional gold-plated Nachiarkoil Kuthuvilakku (lamp) to Chinese Prez Xi Jinping. Thanjavur painting is one of the few art forms that exist today which employs precious stones and golden flakes extensively.

The Nachiarkoil Kuthuvilakku derives its name from a town in Kumbakonam taluk. They are usually made of brass and features the 'Annam' bird. These hand-made lamps usually consist of four parts, which can be screwed together.

On the other hand, Xi gifted a porcelain plate with Modi's portrait painted on it. “The gifts embody the friendship between President Xi and the leaders of India and Nepal and the friendly relations between China and the two countries,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Earlier in the day, PM Narendra Modi received Chinese President Xi Jinping to resume their conversation. An eco-friendly ride to 'Machan' at Taj Fisherman's Cove for another round of one-on-one meeting followed by delegation-level talks and lunch.