Proust’s book, chess game… These gifts given by Macron to Narendra Modi, Indian Prime Minister

2023-07-14 12:26:10

To any guest of honor of July 14 his presents. The President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron presented Thursday evening to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi three ceremonial gifts, Le Parisien learned from the Élysée Palace, confirming information from franceinfo. The Head of Government of India was also decorated with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, given in the name of “the excellent relationship of friendship and trust which unites France and India”.

The Prime Minister, in office since 2014, was presented with a framed facsimile of a photograph taken on the Champs-Élysées on July 14, 1916 called “A Parisian woman offers flowers to a Sikh” and which is intended as a tribute Indian soldiers who fought alongside France during the First World War. The original version, however, remains in the National Library of France in Paris.

A reproduction of 11th century chess pieces

The great chess lover that is Narendra Modi also received from Emmanuel Macron a reproduction of the Chessboard “of Charlemagne”, a set of ivory chess pieces from the 11th century, currently kept between the treasury of the basilica of Saint-Denis and the Cabinet of Medals of the National Library of France. The reproduction of the pieces made for the occasion is the work of a French start-up, Cosmyx 3D, which reproduced these art objects via three-dimensional printing, according to franceinfo.

The Indian Prime Minister has always promoted chess as one of his favorite hobbies and delivered a speech at the 44th Chess Olympiad, held in Chennai, India in 2022.

Finally, the presentation of gifts ended with the presentation of volume IV of Marcel Proust’s work “In Search of Lost Time”, from the Pléiade edition. We find in this opus the last two volumes of the novel, but also sketches and drafts of the author. Narendra Modi jointly received an English edition of the book.