PM Narendra Modi gifts ’Krishna Pankhi' to his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday gifted Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, who is on a bilateral visit to India, a ‘Krishna Pankhi’ - a sandalwood artefact made in Rajasthan with intricate work with its windows depicting different poses of Lord Krishna, epitomising love, compassion and tenderness.

Kishida arrived here in the national capital earlier on Saturday on his maiden visit to India as the head of the Japanese government. 

According to official sources, `Pankhi` is intricately carved with traditional tools and has a hand-carved peacock figure at top, India`s national bird. Crafted with sandalwood by artisans of Churu, Rajasthan, the `Pankhi` sports intricate carvings and meshwork. Sandalwood has religious significance in India and it also has medicinal properties. 

The edges of the Pankhi are adorned with small `ghungaroo` that move with the flow of wind. Welcoming Kishida and his delegation to India, Prime Minister Modi said that the Japanese PM`s journey has been successful in adding new dimensions to the India-Japan special strategic and global partnership. PM Modi said that India and Japan understand the importance of a secure, trusted, predictable and stable energy supply. "This is essential to achieve sustainable economic growth and to deal with climate change. Our clean energy partnership will be a deciding step in this direction," he stated.