PM’s gifting spree continues- Presented a Sandalwood box with ‘das danams,’ green diamond to President Joe Biden & US First Lady Jill Biden at private dinner. 

The master craftsman from Jaipur, Rajasthan handcrafted the sandalwood which was sourced from Mysore, Karnataka. The special box also contained a silver diya (oil lamp) and silver idol of Lord Ganesha, which were handcrafted by a family of fifth-generation silversmiths from Kolkata, as per the officials. 

The diamond was placed in a ‘papier mache’ box, popularly known as ‘kar-e-kalamdani’ in Kashmir, which involves sakthsazior meticulous preparation of paper pulp and naqqashi painted with elaborate designs.

It also had a copper plate (tamper-Patra) from Uttar Pradesh, which was inscribed with a shloka.

Apart from Ganesh idol the 10 donations inside the silver box include:

• A handcrafted silver coconut by the skilled artisans of West Bengal for gaudaan. 
• A fragrant piece of sandalwood from Mysore for bhudaan. 
• White sesame seeds from Tamil Nadu for tildaan. 
• A 24-carat pure and hallmarked gold coin, handcrafted in Rajasthan, for hiranyadaan. 
• Ghee from Punjab for ajyadaan. 
• Handwoven textured tussar silk cloth from Jharkhand for vastradaan. 
• Long-grained rice from Uttarakhand for dhaanyadaan. 
• Jaggery from Maharashtra for guddaan. 
• Crafted by Rajasthan artisans, a 99.5 per cent pure and hallmarked silver coin as raupyadaan. 
• Lavan or salt from Gujarat for lavandaan. 

According to AP, the couple gave Modi a handmade, antique American book galley from the early 20th century. The book was accompanied by a vintage American camera and an archival facsimile print of George Eastman’s patent of the first Kodak camera, and a hardcover book of American wildlife photography. 

The first lady gave Modi a signed, first edition copy of ‘Collected Poems of Robert Frost’.

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