From village workshops to Rashtrapati Bhavan: Inside the Republic Day invite created by Northeast artisans

The work was completed over roughly three and a half months and involved two distinct phases. (Image: @ANI/X)

Those invited to President Droupadi Murmu’s ‘At Home’ reception marking India’s 77th Republic Day on January 26, 2026, receive more than a formal card. In place of the conventional printed invitation, guests are being sent a handcrafted bamboo box that brings together material traditions from all eight Northeastern states. Videos showing India Post delivering these invitations have gained attention online, prompting curiosity about how such diverse regional crafts were assembled into a single design.

The invitation was conceptualised and produced under the direction of the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad. The project was led by professors Andrea Noronha, Dr CS Susanth and Dr Ashok Mondal, who coordinated with artisans and toolmakers spread across the Northeast, according to a report in Hindustan Times. 

According to Noronha, the direction provided by Rashtrapati Bhavan followed the approach taken the previous year. “The Rashtrapati Bhavan’s brief was the same as last year's. We had to bring the crafts of the local Indian artisans to the forefront and remind people of India’s heritage through design,” she said. She noted that the intention was to foreground the artistic traditions of the Northeastern region and underline their place within India’s broader cultural identity.

The work was completed over roughly three and a half months and involved two distinct phases. The first 45 days were devoted to sourcing materials and handcrafted components from villages and craft clusters across the Northeastern states. This was followed by another 45 days during which the invitation boxes were assembled and finished at the NID campus in Ahmedabad.

Around 200 rural artisans and toolmakers produced individual elements in their home regions. At NID, nearly 100 students and faculty members worked on assembling the final pieces.

"Around 100 artisans from Ashtalakshmi states were invited to stay on our campus to create the invitation card. It took around 45 days for its production, which was done without the use of any machines. It is completely handcrafted," NID Director Ashok Mondal told PTI. 

"Our team members visited each state and worked with the artisans there. These artisans were very happy when they came to know that their art forms would be part of the invitation card sent by the president, and the final result says all about their happiness," he added.

Each item inside the bamboo-mat box corresponds to a specific Northeastern state. The formal invitation text is engraved on a wooden slate and accompanied by a curated selection of handcrafted objects.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Karnataka Postal Circle (@karnatakapostalcircle)

Among these are Assam’s Gogona jaw harp, jewellery made from cane in Tripura, and a textile from Nagaland created using orange wild rhea and stinging nettle fibre. The Nagaland fabric reflects an older weaving tradition that predates cotton but is now practised by only a small number of artisans. The box also includes Mizoram’s Puan Chei textile and Manipur’s Longpi black pottery, produced in a Neolithic style and featuring the Shirui Lily.

#WATCH | For the ‘At Home’ reception on the occasion of Republic Day 2026, Rashtrapati Bhavan has extended a specially curated invitation to the guests. This invitation pays tribute to the skilled artisans and craftspersons of the Ashtalakshmi states, who continue to preserve the… pic.twitter.com/ZwOSKtmZUy — ANI (@ANI) January 13, 2026

“Without our alumni embedded in these communities, we wouldn’t have been able to put this together,” she said. Referring specifically to the stinging nettle fabric from Nagaland, she explained: “The stinging nettle fabric from Nagaland existed long before cotton, but today, very few artisans still practice it. We reached out to our people on the ground who knew these artisans personally, and that is how we were able to bring this rare craft into the box.”

According to Hindustan Times, unlike traditional invitation cards, the 2026 Republic Day box has been designed to endure beyond the event. It can be displayed as a wall hanging, with the intention of preserving and showcasing craft traditions while increasing public awareness of the skills associated with the Northeastern states. The approach follows last year’s invitation, which focused on craft practices from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

This invitation has been conceived as a confluence of elements reflecting the distinctive traditions that shape daily life in each state of India's Northeastern region, the people's mastery of unique handicraft techniques, and the natural ecosystems that sustain their homes," the card reads according to PTI. 

"It is designed to adorn your walls long after your participation in the celebrations of Republic Day 2026, as a beautiful depiction of the living heritage and artistic traditions of the country's northeastern region," it added.