G20 Summit: Special lunch for spouses of heads of state at Jaipur House

Spouses of heads of state of various countries who will soon gather here for the G20 Summit, will be treated to a special lunch at the iconic Jaipur House, on the sidelines of the mega event, sources said.

The menu will also include millet-based delicacies, they said.

The G20 Leaders' Summit will take place on September 9-10 at the newly-built international convention and exhibition centre -- Bharat Mandapam -- at the Pragati Maidan.

"Besides, special exhibitions and cultural activities at the main Summit venue, an event is also being hosted for the spouses of the leaders at the Jaipur House that is home to the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA)," an official source said.

The NGMA possesses a rich collection of artworks, including paintings, sculptures, photographs and other forms of art. It comes under the Ministry of Culture.

"They (spouses of heads of states) will be treated to a special lunch at the Jaipur House, and the menu will include millet-based delicacies," another source told PTI.

The British-era edifice, one of the several former royal houses facing the India Gate circle in the heart of Delhi, was built originally as a residence for the Maharaja of Jaipur in 1936.

On March 29, 1954, S Radhakrishnan (then vice president of India) inaugurated the National Gallery of Modern Art at the Jaipur House, according to the website of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

"Jaipur House, one of the premier edifices, the butterfly-shaped building with a central dome, was designed by Charles G Blomfield and his brother Francis B Blomfield," it says.

Recently, new shiny metallic signages in Hindi and English, bearing the name of the gallery have been put up on its facade, which also gets illuminated at night.

An aesthetically made board bearing the emblem of the NGMA, Jaipur House has also been put up at its entrance gate.

The sources said according to the plan, prior to attending the luncheon at the Jaipur House, spouses of the visiting heads of state shall also visit the Pusa campus here to learn more about farming millets.

Spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union government sponsored the proposal for the International Year of Millets (IYM) 2023 which was accepted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Modi has also shared his vision to make IYM 2023 a "people's movement" alongside positioning India as the "global hub for millets".

Being grown in more than 130 countries at present, millets are considered traditional food for more than half a billion people across Asia and Africa, the agriculture ministry earlier said.

At the G20 events held under different tracks of the grouping across the country since India assumed its presidency on December 1, millet-based dishes have been on the menus for lunches and dinners served to delegates.

From the G20 Tourism Minister's Meeting in Goa in June to the G20 Culture Ministers' Meeting in Varanasi in August, millet-based delicacies have been served to ministers and other delegates, at hotels hosting key meetings.

In Varanasi, the Taj Ganges hotel, where the fourth G20 Culture Working Group and Culture Ministers' Meeting took place, had curated a special menu for delegates, which included Ragi Litti and Chokha.

Luxury hotels in Delhi are now also gearing up to host heads of state ahead of the G20 Summit and offer them gourmet delights including millet-based dishes.