Manuscripts of the Rig Veda, an anamorphic digital image of the Mona Lisa, and a rare copy of the Magna Carta from the United Kingdom are some of the artefacts at display at the 'Culture Corridor' at Bharat Mandapam, the venue of the recently-concluded G20 Summit in Delhi.
The Culture Corridor is a one of its kind of project and was inaugurated on Saturday to coincide with the opening of the G20 Summit.
The corridor has been planned in the 'phygital' format which means that it has both physical and digital elements. The dignitaries from across the world, including the heads of government and state, who attended the G20 Summit walked through the corridor as it has been set up on the same floor as the place of their meetings.
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Some of the other artefacts at display include certified original copies of the US' Charters of Freedom, a 'fahua'-lid jar from China, and Panini's grammar treatise "Ashtadhyayi" from India, according to PTI.
New Delhi hosted the G20 Summit on September 9-10, which marked the conclusion of the yearlong presidency of India of Group of 20 (G-20). The issuance of the G20 New Delhi Leaders' Declaration with consensus despite divisions within the grouping has been the major achievement of India's presidency along with the inclusion of the African Union (AU) as the permanent member of G20. On the sidelines, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden along with Middle Eastern and Euoprean leaders announced the launch of the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).
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The Culture Corridor, envisioned by the Union Ministry of Culture, also includes an anamorphic digital image of the Mona Lisa, the 16th century Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece on display at the Louvre in Paris, according to PTI.
Earlier this month, officials had said there was a plan to open the corridor to the public after the summit.
"India's G20 presidency theme is 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakum' and with this international project, we are walking the talk that the world is one family as we will display cultural objects from all 20 members and nine invited countries as part of this 'culture corridor', envisioned as a G20 legacy project, a 'museum in the making'," a source had earlier told PTI.
As part of the Culture Corridor project, India asked each G20 member and invited country to make submissions under the four categories of physical object of cultural significance, "iconic cultural masterpiece" in digital format, high-resolution digital content depicting the intangible heritage, and natural heritage of each of the countries, according to PTI.
The source quoted earlier told PTI that physical objects have been loaned for a limited period.
As an exhibition themed on the 'Mother of Democracy' is being also hosted to mark the summit, a fifth segment was added to the 'culture corridor' project in which an "ancient artefact related to democratic practices" in physical or digital format was sought from each G20 member and invited country, reported PTI.
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In the object of cultural significance category, India has displayed Panini's "Ashtadhyayi" sourced from the Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri National Sanskrit University, Delhi, reported PTI, adding that the Rig Veda manuscript has been displayed in the artefact related to democratic practices category.
In the iconic cultural masterpiece category, Bhimbhetka cave paintings from Madhya Pradesh are displayed in digital format, the official had told PTI.
In the artefact related to democratic practices category, the US is sharing "original copies of the Charters of Freedom", certified by the American government, reported PTI.
"The Charters of Freedom refer to three historic 18th century documents of the US -- the United States Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and the Bill of Rights," noted PTI.
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The source told the news agency that the Indian government would be happy of offer it to the countries assuming the G20 presidency after India.
