PM Modi charms Biden's with 7.5-carat green diamond, sandalwood box

White House: From a handcrafted sandalwood box for US President Joe Biden, and a 7.5-carat eco-friendly green diamond for first lady Jill Biden, prime minister Narendra Modi has presented a range of gifts to the Bidens.

Modi, on a four-day state visit, was hosted by the Bidens at the White House for a private dinner on Wednesday. During the dinner at the White House, they discussed a range of issues, exchanged gifts and enjoyed a musical tribute to the many cultures in India.

7.5-carat lab-grown diamond

Modi gifted a 7.5-carat lab-grown green diamond placed in a papier mâché box, known as kar-e-kalamdani, to First Lady Jill Biden.

The diamond reflects earth-mined diamonds’ chemical and optical properties. It is also eco-friendly, as eco-diversified resources like solar and wind power were used in its making.

The box, kar-e-kalamdani, is Kashmir’s exquisite papier mâché which involves ‘sakthsazi’ or meticulous preparation of paper pulp and ‘naqqashi’, where skilled artisans paint elaborate designs.

Sandalwood ‘Das Danam’ box

A handcrafted sandalwood box containing a lamp and a silver Lord Ganesha idol was gifted to US President Joe Biden.

The special sandalwood box, handcrafted by a master craftsman from Jaipur, contains the idol of Lord Ganesha and a diya (oil lamp), a copper plate, and silver boxes that contain das danam (10 donations).

What’s in the box?

The silver idol of Ganesha has been handcrafted by a family of fifth-generation silversmiths from Kolkata.

A diya (oil lamp) which has a sacred space in every Hindu household has been handcrafted by artisans from a family of fifth-generation silversmiths in Kolkata.

The copper plate, also called tampra-patra, has been sourced from Uttar Pradesh. A shloka has been inscribed on it. In ancient times tamra-patra was widely used as a medium for writing and record keeping.

The handcrafted delicate silver boxes contain symbolic Das Danam or the ten donations, which signifies the donations made on this occasion.

The sandalwood box was sourced from Mysore, Karnataka with intricately carved flora and fauna patterns on it.

The sandalwood carving was done in Rajasthan, which is an ancient art that has been handed down from generation to generation. The artisan has skillfully embedded a piece of his story and a touch of passion into this work to produce a piece of the finest craftsmanship.

What’s special about the Das Danam

Ancient Indian text Krishna Yajurveda’s Vaikhanas Grihya Sutram mentioned that an individual becomes ‘Drishta Sahasrachandro’ or the one who has seen 1,000 full moons when he completes the age of eighty years and eight months.

A life spanning 1,000 full moons or ‘Sahasra Poorna Chandrodayam’ is considered to be an important milestone in the Hindu way of life. The gap between two full moons is about 29.53 days, so the time span covered by 1,000 full moons would be approximately 29,530 days or 80 years and 8 months.

At this stage of life, the individual is honoured and celebrated for the sheer experience of human life. An elaborate set of Vedic rituals are performed such as Vinayak Pooja - prayers to Lord Ganesha, culminating in Poornaahuti (oblation to the sacred fire) Satabhishekam and finally Sahasra Chandra Darshanam or gazing at the 1,000th full moon.

During Sahasra Poorna Chandrodayam celebrations, there is a custom of Das Danam or donations of ten different kinds, which include - Gaudaan (cow), Bhudaan (land), Tildaan (sesame seeds), Hiranyadaan (gold), Ajyadaan (ghee or clarified butter), Dhaanyadaan (food grains), Vastradaan (clothes), Guddaan (jaggery), Raupyadaan (silver) and Lavandaan (salt).

This is a thoughtful present to his list of gifts, months before US President’s 81st birthday in November.

Das Danam includes:

- A silver coconut by the skilled artisans of West Bengal is offered in place of a cow for Gaudaan (donation of a cow).

- A fragrant piece of sandalwood sourced from Mysore, Karnataka is offered in place of land for Bhudaan (donation of land).

- Til or white sesame seeds sourced from Tamil Nadu, offered for Tildaan (donation of sesame seeds).

- Handcrafted in Rajasthan, a 24K pure and hallmarked gold coin is offered as Hiranyadaan (donation of gold).

- Ghee or clarified butter sourced from Punjab is offered for Ajyadaan (donation of clarified butter).

- A handwoven textured tussar silk cloth sourced from Jharkhand is offered for Vastradaan (donation of cloth).

- Long-grained rice sourced from Uttarakhand is offered for Dhaanyadaan (donation of food grains).

- Gud or Jaggery sourced from Maharashtra is offered for Guddaan (donation of jaggery).

- A 99.5% pure and hallmarked silver coin has been aesthetically crafted by Rajasthan artisans and is offered as Raupyadaan (donation of silver).

- Lavan or salt from Gujarat is offered for Lavandaan (donation of salt).

The Ten Principal Upanishads

In 1937, WB Yeats published an English translation of the Indian Upanishads, co-authored with Sri Purohit Swami. The translation and collaboration between the two authors occurred throughout the 1930s and it was one of the final works of Yeats.

A copy of the first edition print of this book, The Ten Principal Upanishads published by Faber and Faber Ltd of London and printed at the University Press Glasgow has been gifted to President Biden by PM Modi.