Rome(Italy), 17 September (H.S.): Renowned Italian culinary artist Valentino Rahim celebrated the 75th birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a creative gastronomic tribute—a tricolour millet pizza symbolising India’s national flag. The special dish was unveiled at Rome’s acclaimed restaurant Zoya, underscoring Modi’s global campaign to position millets, or Shree Anna, as a superfood for a healthier and more sustainable future.

Chef Rahim prepared the pizza on a millet base, topped with vibrant colours of saffron, white, and green to represent the Indian tricolour. The gesture, he said, embodied admiration for PM Modi’s leadership in promoting sustainable agriculture and encouraging dietary shifts towards nutritious alternatives.

Extending his greetings with the words “Tanti Auguri Modi” (meaning “many best wishes”), Rahim praised the Indian Prime Minister’s vision, highlighting how millets can provide solutions to challenges of food security, environmental stress, and farmers’ livelihoods while nurturing global health.

Describing Modi’s millet initiative as “creative and inspiring,” the chef argued that the ancient grains can play a pivotal role in shaping future food systems by addressing nutritional imbalances and reducing the agricultural sector’s carbon footprint.

The celebratory gesture in Rome adds to the series of international acknowledgments of India’s push for declaring 2023 the International Year of Millets, and reflects how Modi’s advocacy for traditional grains has resonated far beyond India’s borders.

—————

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar