When Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Hangzhou, China’s famed lake city, on Saturday night, he was rather a familiar face for Hangzhou’s residents.
Spotted in the by-lanes of Hangzhou’s renowned art district are ‘Miniature Modis’, the intricate dolls crafted by local artist Wu Xiaoli that have created quite a stir in this lake town.
People have been flocking to the art shop and these models have been selling like hot cakes. The model shows Narendra Modi in a formal suit, smiling with one his hands stretched out and he is holding flowers in his other hand. There is also a dove on his shoulder as a symbol of peace for India and China and lotus flower placed by his feet.
After finding out that G20 summit was being hosted in Hangzhou, a local artist, Wu Xiaoli wanted to something special for the event. So, she decided to create miniature model dolls of Modi and 19 other world leaders who would be there for the summit.
Describing him as a “handsome” leader, Wu says she is particularly fond of Modi and that his models have been quite popular with visitors. It took Xiaoli 10 months to create all the models after carefully studying dozens of photographs and videos of the Indian Prime Minister and other leaders, which she hopes captures the essence of each leader.