NEW DELHI: The ‘Culture Corridor’ being set up at the Bharat Mandapam, the venue of the G20 leadership Summit, will be host to a variety of world-renowned artefacts from all the member nations. Ancient text – Ashtadhyayi – authored by Sanskrit philologist and scholar Panini; ‘Mrs Ples’ – the 2.5-million-year-old fossil cranium from South Africa; 18th-century Fahua lidded porcelain jay of China; 16th-century Italian statue Apollo Belvedere; and a copy of Magna Carta (The Great Charter) – world-famous document issued by King of England from British Library – are among 29 artefacts especially sourced for display at the event starting September 9.
A mega exhibition – India as Mother of Democracy – is also planned where it will be shown how India has managed to retain and strengthen democratic traditions for 5,000 years. The other countries have also been asked to send artefacts related to democratic practices.
All activities and events on culture are being led by the Ministry of culture. The copy of Charters of Freedom (Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights 1776-1791) of the USA, a copy of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen National Assembly (France, 1789), the poster of the first democratic general election of the Republic of Korea held in May 1948 and ancient manuscript Rig Veda are part of the democracy exhibition.
The exhibit will also showcase a 12-foot digital cube which will display iconic masterpieces through anamorphic content. 180-degree immersive screens will be installed.
For the G20 Digital Museum countries have sent high-resolution digital images and sound of their iconic cultural masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa, the 16th-century painting by Leonardo da Vinci which is at the Louvre Museum in Paris, ‘Girl With a Pearl Earring’, the famed oil painting by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer from Netherlands, Gutenberg Bible (1454) from Germany and samples of intangible cultural heritage including traditional archery (Turkey), Bolshoi Ballet (Russia) and Manual Bell Ringing (Spain and European Union).