New Delhi, Sept. 11 -- As India prepares to host the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13, culture has emerged as one of the quieter but most powerful threads running through the proceedings. The summit's official media kit moves beyond policy briefings to spotlight India's culinary and craft traditions - from Bihar's humble sattu to the coffee grown in Odisha's Koraput hills and the handwoven textiles of Gujarat.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has framed cultural and people-to-people exchange as one of BRICS's three foundational pillars, alongside political-security and economic cooperation. That vision has already played out on the ground: in February, the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Textiles host...