As world leaders sat down for hard conversations on trade, terrorism and a fractured West Asia, another storyline unfolded quietly alongside the 18th BRICS Summit: India’s deliberate effort to project its cultural depth, culinary diversity and civilisational confidence to a global audience. From a heritage-laced media kit to a curated crafts bazaar and a symbolic gift to Vladimir Putin, New Delhi used every corner of the summit to tell what officials repeatedly called “the India Story.”
A goodie bag with a message
It started with something as ordinary as a media kit. The Ministry of External Affairs, coordinating with the governments of Bihar, Odisha and Gujarat, put together a nine-item hamper for the 1,200 to 1,300 journalists expected to cover the summit — and turned it into a compact tour of India’s regions. Bihar contributed sattu, the traditional roasted-gram drink, and makhana (fox nuts), now a increasingly popular snack. Odisha added 100% Arabica specialty coffee grown in the tribal hills of Koraput, spotlighting a lesser-known corner of India’s coffee landscape. Gujarat rounded it out with a block-printed stole and handicrafts. Practical items like a tote bag with a built-in charging port and a BRICS-branded mug filled out the rest. MEA official Vasudev Ravi described the idea plainly: an opportunity to showcase the “India Story” to media covering the summit, going beyond briefing documents to give journalists something to taste, touch and carry home.
Bharat Mandapam as a diplomatic statement
The choice of venue itself was part of the messaging. Bharat Mandapam, the International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre at Pragati Maidan, once again became the physical stage for India’s hosting ambitions — a building where, as officials framed it, modern infrastructure meets Indian heritage. Its role as the venue for back-to-back global summits has increasingly positioned it as a symbol of a country capable of matching the convention infrastructure of Washington or Chicago, while wrapping that capability in a distinctly Indian architectural and cultural idiom.
A crafts bazaar for visiting leaders
Culture spilled beyond the summit venue itself. At the National Crafts Museum, a “BRICS Bazaar” brought together artisans and craft traditions from across the bloc’s members — Suzhou embroidery from China, traditional weaving from Indonesia, wood and calabash art from Nigeria, Zulu leatherwork from South Africa, Brazilian clay art, Belarusian willow weaving and Kazakh silverwork — alongside India’s own handlooms and handicrafts. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, on his first visit to a BRICS summit as head of state, toured the pavilions and interacted directly with artisans. The Indian pavilion drew particular attention, with officials introducing visiting delegations to regional handlooms, eco-friendly handicrafts, and products made by women artisans from rural communities — presenting the exhibition not merely as a display of commercial products but, as organisers put it, as a repository of collective memory.
A gift of ancient wisdom
Cultural diplomacy also found its way into Modi’s one-on-one exchanges. Ahead of the summit, Modi presented Russian President Vladimir Putin with a Russian translation of the Thirukkural, the classical Tamil text of ethical couplets attributed to the poet-philosopher Thiruvalluvar — framing it as a gift rooted in what he called the “eternal wisdom” of Indian civilisational thought, and a reminder that India’s outreach extended well past policy tables into the register of shared human heritage.
Innovation as its own kind of soft power
Modi also walked BRICS leaders — including Xi Jinping, Putin, and Pezeshkian — through the “Bharat Innovates” exhibition in Delhi, a showcase of Indian technology and innovation staged alongside the summit. The visual of rival and competing world leaders touring an Indian tech showcase together became one of the more striking images of the two-day event, reinforcing the message that India’s rise isn’t confined to diplomacy or economics alone.
The bigger picture
Taken together, the media kit, the crafts bazaar, the Thirukkural gift and the innovation showcase reflected a consistent strategy: use India’s BRICS chairship — coinciding with the bloc’s 20th anniversary — not just to broker consensus on the New Delhi Declaration or host high-stakes bilaterals, but to put India’s culture, craftsmanship and technological confidence on display before an audience representing roughly half the world’s population. As one official summed it up, the goal was to let visiting delegations experience India’s food, coffee and craftsmanship as a “quieter and more intimate” bridge between hard diplomacy and everyday tradition — soft power running in parallel with the summit’s high politics.
