“The Other BRICS Summit: How Bharat Served a Taste of Bharat”, MyIndMakers, 16 Sep 2026.

“While leaders negotiated in New Delhi, the country introduced itself through a dinner menu, a journalist’s gift bag and a temple backdrop.

Diplomacy has its formal language: statements, negotiations, handshakes and carefully composed photographs. But a country can also speak through what it serves its guests, what it places in their hands, and what it chooses to show behind them.

At the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, India’s presentation of itself extended beyond the conference hall. A millet-led gala dinner, a media kit featuring regional products and crafts, and a backdrop drawn from India’s civilisational heritage offered a different kind of introduction to the country.

Call it the other summit: less about the negotiating table, more about the experience of being welcomed to Bharat.

A menu with a message

The gala dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Bharat Mandapam on September 12 began with a simple but telling choice: millets were not an afterthought. They were a theme.

The menu’s note on Shree Anna described millets as nutrient-rich grains that require fewer resources and can support agricultural sustainability and climate resilience. It also recalled the United Nations’ designation of 2023 as the International Year of Millets.

The idea was carried through the meal. Pearl millet appeared in the pulao, sorghum in the Indian bread, and barnyard millet in a dessert. The menu made a case for these grains not through a speech, but through a meal that visiting leaders could experience for themselves………..”

Read the full article at MyIndMakers.