PM Modi gifts Queen Elizabeth II Special Mementos, Gifts

London, Nov 13: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, the second day of his three-day visit to Britain, gifted Queen Elizabeth II a set of memorable photographs, special Darjeeling tea, and honey from Jammu and Kashmir as the British monarch hosted a luncheon banquet in his honour.

“These photographs of Her Majesty the Queen date back to the visit when she was Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade,” Modi tweeted.

According to an official statement, the photographs were taken 54 years ago from the queen’s first visit to India in January-February 1961.

During the visit, Queen Elizabeth had also visited some other cities, including Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Udaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai.

Taken on January 31, 1961, the first photograph shows her visiting the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, one day after the commemoration of the 13th death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

The second photograph was taken on February 19, 1961, in Chennai, and shows her at a reception in her honour by the then State of Madras where she was presented a cake to mark the first birthday of Prince Andrew, the Duke of York.

The third photograph was taken on February 25, 1961, and shows the queen riding an elephant in a procession to Balua Ghat in Varanasi, now Prime Minister Modi’s parliamentary constituency. Another photo, taken on February 24, 1961, shows her visiting the Atomic Energy Centre at Trombay, near Mumbai.

In addition, Modi also presented to the queen some award-winning Darjeeling tea from Makaibari tea estate in West Bengal, fine organic honey from Jammu and Kashmir, and Tanchoi stoles that are a specialty of Varanasi. (IANS)