PM Modi gifts handcrafted stone bowl, dhurries to Japanese premier

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday presented his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe two handcrafted stone bowls and dhurries made from rose quartz and yellow quartz stone sourced from Rajasthan.

A Jodhpuri wooden chest from Rajasthan with traditional work was also presented, an official said.

The gifts were specially crafted on the occasion of Modi's visit to Japan for the two-day India-Japan annual summit.

The bowls were crafted by master artisan Shabbirhusen Ibrahimbhai Shaikh of Gujarat's Khambhat region, which is known for its practice of stone craft since generations and is also a leading hub for exports of stone products from India.

"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 official said.

Hand-woven by the master weavers of Mirzapur in 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," the official said.

The stone bowls and dhurries were made under the design supervision of the prestigious Ahmedabad-based National Institute of Design.