「经济学人」Premier prezzies

Religious art is good. A portrait of the prime minister is better

Narendra modi is estranged from his wife and has no children and little leisure time. As India’s prime minister his few corporeal needs are attended to by the state. So what do you give a man who needs nothing? An exhibition at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in Delhi has answers.

In India, as elsewhere, gifts given to senior officials are held by the treasury. Since 2019 it has periodically auctioned them off, for the benefit of a scheme to clean up the Ganges river. The NGMA has put on display a selection of 113 objects (of a total of 912) presented to Mr Modi over the past year and available for purchase online. Catchily titled “E-auction of Mementos Presented to The Honorable Prime Minister”, the exhibition is a snapshot of what Indians think their prime minister is likeliest to appreciate.

The items fall into four categories. The first is objects that say something about the gift-giver. These include tribal art and traditional headgear. The second category contains religious and nationalist mementoes: sculptures of Hindu warrior-rulers who fought the Muslim Mughal empire, figurines of Hindu gods, models of temples, including one being built on top of a destroyed mosque in Ayodhya, which Mr Modi is expected to inaugurate before elections next year. The third category includes symbols of the government’s modernisation programme, such as replicas of a new airport and train, whose ribbons the prime minister has cut.

The last category contains images of Mr Modi, and is the highlight. Your correspondent counted seven portraits, as well as carvings and statues, including one entitled “modi: Man of Development India”: yours for 8,700 rupees ($105). These depict various facets of Mr Modi’s public image. One picture shows him as a dutiful son seeking his mother’s blessing (priced at 48,600 rupees). Another as a man of piety, bathing in the Ganges (81,100 rupees). A third shows him lost in contemplation, channelling the spirit of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, an early Hindu nationalist (5,000 rupees). There is even a portrait of Mr Modi in the medium of millet grains, which his government is promoting (62,600 rupees). As the NGMA’s director, Temsunaro Tripathi, puts it, “There is something for everyone.” (Provided you like Mr Modi.)

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline "Premier prezzies" (Oct 26th2023)

我没有译文，仅供拓展阅读

LearnAndRecord

2015年2月8日

2023年11月2日

第3190天

每天持续行动学外语