Handcrafted stone bowls, dhurries: PM Modi’s gift to Abe

Tokyo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday presented his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe two handcrafted stone bowls and ‘dhurries’ specially crafted on the occasion of his visit to Japan for the 13th India-Japan annual summit.

According to sources, made from rose quartz and yellow quartz stone sourced from Rajasthan, the bowls were crafted by master artisan Shabbirhusen Ibrahimbhai Shaikh of Khambhat region of Gujarat, that has been known for its practice of stone craft.

“The uniqueness of this craft lies in the fact that the form of the product is scooped out from a block of stone, and then shaped and refined using basic hand tools generally without any lathe machines,” the source said.

Hand-woven by the master weavers of Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, the ‘dhurrie’ designs show the diversity of possibilities available; from a symmetrical repeating geometric tessellation in one, to stylistic floral motifs arranged around the classical medallion pattern in another.

“The dhurries use two distinctive Indian colour palettes; while one uses Indigo blues, reds and sprinkles of turmeric yellows, the identifying colours that have marked Indian textiles for centuries, the other uses the muted earthy tones of the Indian landscape”.

These stone bowls and ‘dhurries’ were made under the design supervision of India’s premier design institute, the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, sources said.

The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India, is working towards the upliftment of the stone craft cluster of Khambhat by bringing in design and technological interventions.

In addition, a Jodhpuri wooden chest from Rajasthan with traditional work was also presented to Mr Modi’s host and Japanese Prime Minister Mr Abe.

This has been the 12th meeting between two leaders in last four and half years.

“Landed in Tokyo. I am confident this visit will add new vigour to the strong friendship between India and Japan,” Mr Modi tweeted on his arrival on Saturday. (UNI)