Staff Reporter :Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina exchanged gifts just before the two Premiers’ meeting in Dhaka on Saturday afternoon. Narendra Modi presented Sheikh Hasina a hand-woven tapestry which was made in Venkatagiri of Andhra Pradesh.Before holding the one-to-one talks with Hasina, Modi handed the gift over to her at Golap Hall of PM Office.Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also handed gift to her Indian counterpart photos of some rare moment of Pakistani Army’s surrender at Suhrawardy Udyan (then Race Course Maidan). West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was present there. Mamata Banerjee also handed over gifts on two traditional Indian sarees to Sheikh Hasina.In his official tweeter account, Modi later posted, “Presented a hand-woven tapestry from Venkatagiri, Andhra Pradesh woven in Jamdani style to PM Sheikh Hasina.” “Artwork in this tapestry shows Kalpavriksh tree & the Kamadhenu cow.”Located in Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh, Venkatagiri is famous for handlooms.The weavers have adopted the fine jamdani weaving technique while assimilating traditional designs of the region, such as the artwork in this tapestry that shows the Kalpavriksh tree and the Kamadhenu cow which are regarded as auspicious and bestower of prosperity.The tapestry has been woven using very fine cotton yarn and pure gold thread, with both the warp and the weft having the same count of cotton yarn.It has been prepared by Nellore’s national award winning artist and master craftsman Gowrabathini Ramanaiah.
