Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday presented uniquely inspired and crafted gifts to US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden as the two prepared to host him for an intimate state dinner in the US.To President Biden, the PM presented a set of elements offered in the Indian tradition in celebration of a person who completes 80 years of life.
As a second gift, the PM presented the US president with a copy of the first edition print of the book, ‘The Ten Principal Upanishads’, an English translation of the Upanishads by WB Yeats and co-author Swami Purohit, published by Faber and Faber of London and printed at the University Press, Glasgow.
The principal gift to Biden stemmed from the ancient Indian ritual of honouring a man who lives beyond 80 years. Ancient Indian text Krishna Yajurveda’s Vaikhanas Grihya Sutram mentions that an individual becomes ‘Drishta Sahasrachandro’ or the one who has seen one thousand full moons when he completes the age of eighty years and eight months.The life spanning one thousand 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 a thousand full moons would be approximately 29,530 days or 80 years and eight months.At this stage of life, the individual (who has seen one thousand full moons) 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 scared 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 10 different kinds, that 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).Accordingly, the PM presented to the US President a range of elements wrapped tastefully in a sandalwood box crafted by artisans from Rajasthan, in celebration of his life.
The
sandalwood in the box itself has been sourced from Mysore and has intricately carved flora and fauna patterns.
The box contains a silver idol of Ganesha, the Hindu deity considered the destroyer of obstacles. The idol has been handcrafted by a family of fifth generation silversmiths of Kolkata.
A diya (oil lamp) which occupies a sacred space in every Hindu household where daily prayers are offered by lighting a cotton wick dipped in oil accompanies the idol and has also been handcrafted by artisans from the family of fifth-generation silversmiths in Kolkata.
A copper plate, also in the box, called tamra-patra has been sourced from Uttar Pradesh and a shloka 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 signify the donations made on this occasion.All these donations are part of the presents — a delicately handcrafted silver coconut by the skilled artisans of West Bengal is offered in place of a cow for Gaudaan (donation of cow); a fragrant piece of sandalwood sourced from Mysore 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 has been offered for Vastradaan (donation of cloth); long grained rice sourced from Uttarakhand have been offered for Dhaanyadaan (donation of food grains), jaggery sourced from Maharashtra offered for Guddaan (donation of jaggery), a 99.5 per cent pure and hallmarked silver coin aesthetically crafted by Rajasthan artisans offered as Raupyadaan (donation of silver), Lavan or salt from Gujarat has been offered for Lavandaan (donation of salt).
The second gift is inspired by President Biden’s well-known admiration for the Irish poet, William Butler Yeats.Yeats had a deep admiration for India and was greatly influenced by Indian spirituality. His friendship and admiration for Rabindranath Tagore is well-known and he helped popularise Gurudev’s Gitanjali in the Western world. Yeats’ admiration for Indian spirituality was much deeper and he was deeply influenced by the Upanishads and other ancient knowledge streams of India.
In 1937, Yeats published an English translation of the Indian Upanishads, co-authored with Shri Purohit Swami. The translation and collaboration between the two authors occurred throughout 1930s and it was one of the final works of Yeats.The first copy of this translation was presented to Joe Biden.To US First Lady Jill Biden, the PM gifted a lab-grown 7.5 carat green diamond.The diamond reflects earth-mined diamonds’ chemical and optical properties. The diamond is also eco-friendly, as eco-diversified resources like solar and wind power were used in its making.It has been sculpted with precision and care using cutting-edge technology and emits only 0.028 grams of carbon per carat and is certified by the Gemological lab.The diamond bears the hallmarks of excellence through the 4Cs: cut, colour, carat and clarity.It is a beacon of responsible luxury that symbolises India’s 75 years of freedom and sustainable International relations and was presented in a papier-mâché box crafted by artisans from Kashmir.
