Chocolate pyramids and Matryoshka dolls: Red carpet welcome for BRICS guests

A golden pyramid made of chocolate, hand-painted chocolate Matryoshka nesting dolls, elaborate floral arrangements: Luxury hotels in the Capital hosting international VIP guests for the 18th BRICS summit have rolled out the red carpet.

Guests and heads of state from 11 member nations and 10 partner countries began arriving on Friday for the two-day summit. They are being hostel at 11 prime hotels—including ITC Maurya, Taj Palace, The Leela Palace, Taj Mahal Hotel, and The Oberoi—which have been fortified by security cover by the Delhi Police and central agencies.

In some of these hotels, pastry chefs have curated special items, personalized with touches from the guests' home countries. At ITC Maurya, the culinary team has designed a showcase featuring a line of hand-painted chocolate Matryoshka nesting dolls set beside a sculpted chocolate panorama of the Moscow skyline.

Accompanying it is a thali laden with traditional Indian mithai, alongside chocolate bonbons spiced with Indian flavours of cardamom, saffron, rose, ginger, and fennel. A similar showcase welcomes the President of Egypt at Sheraton New Delhi.

This one features a textured golden pyramid made entirely of chocolate, placed alongside a framed portrait of the President Abdel Fateh El Sisi and the Egyptian national flag. Glass cloches containing artisanal cheeses and pastries have been placed along with bowls of dried apricots and nuts, and a spread of traditional Indian sweets.

“Our team has curated many specials for this iconic moment. Our chefs have drawn upon India’s rich and diverse, inspiring culinary heritage," said Amit Kumar, General Manager, Sheraton New Delhi. The décor is similarly elaborate.

A multi-tiered floral installation, with yellow and white chrysanthemums and lilies, bedecks the lobby at ITC Maurya. Green, orange, yellow and red flowers have been arranged to spell out ‘BRICS’ on a table there. At Sheraton, an expansive floor art piece adorns the entrance, rendering the BRICS India 2026 lotus emblem and the summit's theme of “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.” “Such occasions call for meticulous preparation and seamless coordination.

At the heart of the experience will be the timeless Indian tradition of Namaste. The culinary experience will be an equally important part of this welcome," said Amaan Kidwai, Area Manager North Luxury Hotels & General Manager, ITC Maurya.

Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023. Professional Background Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.

Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories. Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts. Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials.

Recent notable articles In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories. 1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006.

He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst.

However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey. 2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No.

2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts.

The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation. 3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.

Signature Style Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public. X (Twitter): @Nirbhaya99 ...

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