G20 Summit: PM Narendra Modi changes X page cover photo with Nataraja statue picture

The G20 Summit will be held in New Delhi from Sept 9 to Sept 10.

India assumed G20 presidency on December 1.

So far, 200 meetings related to the event have taken place across 60 cities in the country.

Meanwhile, Modi said he believes the two-day event will chart a new path in the human-centric and inclusive development.

He tweeted: " India is delighted to host the 18th G20 Summit on 09-10 September 2023 at New Delhi’s iconic Bharat Mandapam. This is the first ever G20 Summit being hosted by India. I look forward to productive discussions with world leaders over the next two days."

He said: "It is my firm belief that the the New Delhi G20 Summit will chart a new path in the human-centric and inclusive development."

The 18-tonne Nataraja statue is made of  Ashtadhatu (eight metals).

It is reportedly the tallest statue made from the material.

The statue is installed in front of the ‘Bharat Mandapam’ at the ITPO Convention Centre in Pragati Maidan.

The Nataraja figure, weighing around 18 tonnes, has been crafted by the artists of Swamimalai (a suburb near Kumbakonam in Thanjavur District in Tamil Nadu) in the traditional lost wax casting process following canons and measurements as mentioned in the ‘Silpa Shastra’ and being followed since the Chola period.

The ‘ashta dhatu’ (eight metals or octo alloy, also called bronze) is composed of Copper (87 per cent), Zinc (10 per cent), Lead (3 per cent), Tin, Silver, Gold and Mercury (all in traces) and iron as support.

The manufacturing process is long drawn-and executed manually.

According to various Indian texts, the posture and four hands of Nataraja artistically constructed have specific indications.