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A wall hanging featuring Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad left the prime minister in awe
A weaver impressed Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his cotton zari wall hanging, crafted on a theme of nationalism, and he was praised for his brilliance and creativity.
After inaugurating the one-day exhibition showcasing creations of national handloom awardees in Chennai, Modi went around the senate hall of the Madras University and was struck by a wall hanging on display.
The piece designed with the theme of nationalism featured images of leaders of the freedom movement, including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, K Kamaraj and Rani Lakshmi Bai.
It had an outline of India's map, an image of Gandhi in the middle, with splashes of the national tricolour. The work also had interwoven national symbols, including peacock, lion, banyan tree and lotus.
Deeply impressed, Modi shook hands with Palanisamy and praised him for his work. The elderly weaver clad in dhoti nodded his head quietly and smiled.
Hailing from the textile city of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and a member of a local cooperative society, he had created the hanging with a jacquard design.
The expo displayed about 200 traditional clothing and fabrics of various states, including sarees, shawls and jamakkalam. Though the media was not allowed when Modi went around the expo, the visuals were streamed live in the venue.
When Modi arrived at the venue, he was presented with a shawl with saint Kabir's words inscribed on it by Minister of State for Textiles Santosh Kumar Gangwar.