Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought unique presents that celebrated India’s old culture for US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden during a three-day visit to the US.
While giving the First Lady Jill Biden an exquisite Kashmiri Papier mâché box containing an eco-friendly lab-grown 7.5-carat diamond, Prime Minister Modi gave President Biden, who turns 81 in November, a special sandalwood box that had been sourced from Mysore and was handcrafted by a master craftsman from Jaipur.
According to officials, the silver Lord Ganesha figure in the box was created by a family of fifth-generation silversmiths from Kolkata. White sesame seeds were also used in the box, which were procured from the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The sesame seeds are provided as part of the Tildaan (sesame seed gift) ritual.
The gift box is handcrafted in Rajasthan and includes a 24K pure and hallmarked gold coin that is given as a Hiranyadaan (giving of gold).
It also includes long-grain rice from Uttarakhand, which will be given for Dhaanyadaan (donation of food grains), handwoven textured tussar silk cloth from Jharkhand, which is offered for Vastradaan (donation of cloth), and ghee or clarified butter from Punjab, which is presented for Ajyadaan (donation of clarified butter).
The Bidens, on the other hand, gave Modi an antique American camera, a hardback book of American nature photography, and a signed first edition copy of Robert Frost’s “Collected Poems.”
