PM Modi’s gifts to 80-yr-old Biden include traditional ‘Das Danams’

TIL Desk/World/Washington/ Prime Minister Narendra Modi has gifted United States President Joe Biden a special sandalwood box which highlights the value and respect Indian tradition associates with experience, officials said.

Prime Minister Modi gave President Biden the unique sandalwood box sourced from Mysore with intricately carved flora and fauna patterns and handcrafted by a master craftsman from Jaipur during an intimate dinner at the White House on Wednesday.

The box contains the idol of Lord Ganesha, a Hindu deity considered the destroyer of obstacles and the one who is worshipped first among all gods, and its silver form has been handcrafted by a family of fifth-generation silversmiths of Kolkata, officials said.

The handcrafted delicate silver boxes also contain symbolic — ‘Das Danam’ or the 10 donations which denote the donations made on the occasion when a person becomes ‘Drishta Sahasrachandro’.

Ancient Indian text mentions that an individual becomes ‘Drishta Sahasrachandro’ or the one who has seen one thousand full moons when he completes the age of 80 years and eight months, a milestone President Biden will reach next month.