India's Modi gives handcrafted sandalwood box and green diamond to Bidens

Indian Prime Minister is in the US on four-day state visit

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a handcrafted sandalwood box containing a lamp and a silver Lord Ganesha idol as a gift to US President Joe Biden on his state visit to the US.

The Indian Prime Minister also gave a 7.5-carat eco-friendly green diamond to first lady Jill Biden.

Mr Modi, who is on a four-day state visit, was hosted by the Bidens at the White House for a private dinner on Wednesday.

The box was crafted in India’s western state of Rajasthan, an ancient art passed down through generations. The scented wood was sourced from Mysore in the southern state of Karnataka.

The box, intricately carved with flora and fauna patterns, contained a silver idol of the Hindu deity Ganesha, an oil lamp and “Das Danam”, or 10 donations, a traditional gift for someone who has seen "1,000 full moons" when he reaches the age of 80 years and eight months.

The Das Danam included a delicately handcrafted silver coconut denoting a cow, white sesame seeds, 24-carat hallmarked gold coins, clarified butter and a handwoven textured silk cloth.

Traditionally the donations include a cow, land, gold or silver, food grains and clothes.

The gifts were chosen for Mr Biden, who turns 81 in November.

To Mrs Biden, Mr Modi gave an eco-friendly, lab-grown 7.5-carat diamond in a papier mache box – a 14th century craft from Kashmir prepared with paper pulp before being painted.

In return, the Bidens gave Mr Modi a vintage American camera, a hardcover book of American wildlife photography and a signed, first edition copy of The Collected Poems by Robert Frost.

Mr Modi landed in New York on Tuesday.

It is his first state visit at the invitation of Mr Biden. He has visited six times since becoming India's Prime Minister in 2014.