EDEN IAS

UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS | PM’S GIFTS TO G7 LEADERS A SLICE OF INDIAN CRAFTS | 29TH JUNE | THE HINDU | INDIAN EXPRESS | ECONOMIC TIMES

SYLLABUS SECTION: GS I (ART AND CULTURE)

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Recently, post G7 summit, PM’S GIFTS TO G7 LEADERS presented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi displayed India’s rich art and crafts, particularly those related to Uttar Pradesh’s one district one product scheme.

METAL MARODI CARVING MATKA TO GERMAN CHANCELLOR OLAF SCHOLZ:

METAL MARODI CARVING MATKA TO GERMAN CHANCELLOR OLAF SCHOLZ

  • This nickel-coated, hand-engraved brass vessel is a masterpiece from Moradabad, also known as the Peetal Nagari or “brass city” of Uttar Pradesh.
  • The design on such matkas first needs to be engrave on paper.
  • An outline of the whole design is done with a fine engraving tool hammers with a wooden block.
  • This particular type of engraving is called Marodi, owing to the curve lines used to fill up negative space in this design.

GULABI MEENAKARI BROOCH, CUFFLINK SET TO BIDEN:

GULABI MEENAKARI BROOCH, CUFFLINK SET TO BIDEN

  • Gulabi Meenakari is a GI-tag art form of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
  • A piece of pure silver is mould into a base form and the chosen design is embose in the metal.
  • The embose shapes are then filled with great dexterity with crush meena glass mix with an intriguing natural anardana (pomegranate seeds) glue. 
  • The motifs primarily use the colour pink (Gulabi), which lends its name to the craft.
  • These cufflinks were prepared for the president with a matching brooch for the First Lady, Jill Biden.
PLATINUM-PAINTED, HAND-PAINTED TEA SET TO BORIS JOHNSON:

PLATINUM-PAINTED, HAND-PAINTED TEA SET TO BORIS JOHNSON

  • A platinum painted hand painted tea set from Bulandshahr for UK PM Boris Johnson
  • The crockery is outlined with platinum metal paint in honour of the Queen’s platinum jubilee being celebrated this year. 
  • 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.
ITR BOTTLES TO FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON:

ITR BOTTLES TO FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON

  • The zari zardozi box has been hand embroidered on khadi silk and satin tissue in colours of the French National Flag.
  • The carrier box has been crafted in Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh. 
  • 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 included Attar Mitti, Jasmine oil, Attar Shamama, Attar Gulab, Exotic Musk and Garam Masala.
SILK CARPETS TO CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU

SILK CARPETS TO CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU

  • These carpets are famous all over the world for their softness and craftsmanship. 
  • A Kashmiri Silk carpet is known for its beauty, perfectness, lushness, luxury and dedicated craftsmanship.
  • These exquisite creations are hand-knotted on the warp threads, one at a time, in accordance with a strict code of colours in the order of their appearance in the pattern
  • Characteristically, all silk carpets have an amazingly innate attribute of displaying different colours when viewed from different angles or sides.
BLACK POTTERY PIECES TO JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER FUMIO KISHIDA:

BLACK POTTERY PIECES TO JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER FUMIO KISHIDA:

  • 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 there is no scope for oxygen to enter the oven and the heat level remains high.
  • 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.
MARBLE INLAY TABLE TOP TO ITALIAN PM MARIO DRAGHI:
  • This marble table top with Inlay work has its origin in Agra of Taj Mahal fame.
  • 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. 
  • In this, materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. 
  • The delicate process involves cutting and engraving semi-precious stones on marble manually. 
DOKRA ART WITH RAMAYANA THEME TO SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA:

  • 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.
  • There are two main processes of lost wax casting: solid casting and hollow casting.
  • This particular art piece was from Chattisgarh. 

The principal characters in the artwork are Lord Shri Ram riding an Elephant along with Lakshman, Goddess Sita and Lord Hanuman.

NANDI-THEMED DOKRA ART TO ARGENTINA’S PRESIDENT ALBERTO FERNANDEZ

  • According to Hindu mythology Nandi is considered the vehicle (mount) of Lord Shiva, the lord of destruction.
MOONJ BASKETS, COTTON DURRIES TO SENEGAL’S PRESIDENT MACKY SALL:

i)MOONJ BASKET:

  • Moonj is a wonderful example of utilitarian handicrafts made with sustainably sourced material.
  • Moonj craft utilizes bright, jewel-tone colours in one of the gifts from PM’S GIFTS TO G7 LEADERS.
  • This particular piece is by a master craftswoman from
  • The blades of the sarpat grass used here are much thinner, making them more difficult to weave. 
  1. ii) COTTON DURRIES:
  • It is hand woven in the Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh.
  • The art of Manjak loincloth weaving (in Senegal )is similar to shuttle handloom work done in Sitapur durrie making.
  • The beauty of this particular piece is the thin width of its loom which increases the work out into the Durrie threefold.
LACQUERWARE RAM DURBAR TO INDONESIAN PRESIDENT JOKO WIDODO:

  • The GI tagged lacquerware art-form has its roots in Varanasi.
  • The lacquerware art process is a tedious one, requiring assembly of a base wooden form with separate limbs, which is covered layered by layer with distemper or lac-based paint.
  • The gifted piece is made on Goolar (Botanical name: Ficus Racemosa) wood.
  • The principal characters in the artwork are Shri Ram, Goddess Sita, Lord Hanuman and Jatayu.
  • It is believed that the Indonesian version of Ramayana was written during the Medang Kingdom (732-1006 AD) in Central Java. 
  • It is known as Kakawin Ramayana | PM’S GIFTS TO G7 LEADERS.
  • The story of Ramayana was narrated to the people through shadow puppetry (wayang kulit and wayang purwa). 

Source: INDIAN EXPRESS/THE HINDU/ECONOMIC TIMES