A file photo of PM Narendra Modi and Slovak President Peter Pellegrini exchange gifts during a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Bratislava. (IANS)
Patna: Thekua โ the traditional sweet of Bihar โ is making waves in Slovakia, underscoring the importance of exchanging such food items or snacks in international diplomacy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted a box of thekua to Richard Rasi, Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, during his two-day visit to Slovakia last month (June 14-16).
Exactly a month later, he (Rasi) posted a video unboxing and tasting the sweet. In the 1.38-minute video posted on X, Rasi opens a handcrafted wooden box, picks one of the four cloth bags kept inside, and pulls out a metal container. He then proceeds to remove its lid, lifts a thekua and takes a bite.
He addresses viewers in Slovak, although an English translation also appears in the video, along with clips of Modi’s visit. “Today, I share something unique. When Indian Prime Minister Modi, one of the most powerful men in the world, visited Slovakia, he gifted me these traditional biscuits from the Indian state of Bihar. They are called thekua, and they remind me a little bit of our traditional Slovak biscuits โ the ones our mothers used to make,” Rasi said in the video.
Diplomacy is also about the small gestures that bring people closer. During @narendramodiโs visit to Slovakia, I received traditional Thekua from Bihar and presented him with Slovak spa wafers inscribed in Hindi. Such moments strengthen the ties between our countries. ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฎ๐ณ pic.twitter.com/dgBlOlNYMO
โ Richard Raลกi (@Richard_Rasi) July 14, 2026
“So, let me show you what they look like. And of course, I am also very curious to taste them. I am also sharing this with you because in the media, you usually can see official receptions at the highest level in beautiful places, but an important part of diplomacy is also thoughtful gestures like sharing traditional foods and snacks. It can be an icebreaker or make the mood friendlier. And honestly, it is always good to see that stateswomen or statesmen are normal people too,” he added.
The Slovak National Council speaker went on to say that this was exactly why he also gifted Modi something traditional โ Piestany wafers, especially made for the occasion and inscribed with Hindi script. “We tasted them together. I have to tell, he liked the wafers just as much as I liked the thekua biscuits. Have a nice day filled with memories of India,” Rasi said further.
Piestany is a famous spa town in Slovakia. The ‘Piestany wafers’ are traditional, circular or triangular Slovak spa wafers typically made of two thin, crispy layers baked with a sweet filling like hazelnut, vanilla, or chocolate in the centre. They are often gifted as cultural tokens.
Modi visited Slovakia as part of his European tour, marking the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the country, ever since it became independent in 1993. During the visit, he held talks with his counterpart, Robert Fico and Slovak President Peter Pellegrini, discussing multi-faceted cooperation in areas like trade, technology, defence, education, investment, manufacturing, and innovation.
Thekuas are traditional cookies of Bihar. They are made of wheat flour, jaggery or sugar, and ghee (clarified butter). At times, fennel seeds (saunf) and green cardamom powder are added to them. “Thekuas are an important traditional sweet of the state, dating back to the hoary past. No chemicals, artificial sweeteners, or preservatives are used in them, yet they maintain their goodness and taste for several days,” Bhairab Lal Das, convenor of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) Bihar chapter, told ETV Bharat.
Das pointed out that the long shelf life of thekuas made them a preferred item for snacking and gifting in Bihar’s hot and humid climate, while their purity led to them being offered to the Sun God during Chhath Puja and other festivals in the state.
The thekuas offered as part of rituals in the Chhath Puja are carried by the people of Bihar or sent in parcels to the state’s diaspora. This traditional sweet is also baked in many households regularly to have something ready to satiate hunger pangs.
Also Read