Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the United States to meet President Joe Biden to strengthen the ties between India and America and also discuss their shared antipathy towards China's growing influence across the globe. The Indian PM was hosted for a state dinner at the White House by Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden and there was also a Hi-Tech Handshake event.
At the event, Joe Biden presented PM Modi with a set of gifts to mark the country's allyship with India. One of the gifts was a T-shirt that read the quote, "The Future is AI" with the second line "America & India". Other than that, the Indian PM was also gifted a vintage American camera, a hardcover book of American wildlife photography and a signed, first-edition copy of Collected Poems of Robert Frost.
PM Modi also presented Joe Biden and the First Lady with some gifts to express gratitude towards his ceremonial welcome in the States. As per a tweet shared by the commerce and industry minister, PM Modi gifted Jill Biden an "eco-friendly lab-grown diamond, placed in Kashmir's exquisite Papier mâché box."
He also presented an aesthetically carved sandalwood box made by national-award-winning artist Mohit Jangid. As quoted by the Jaipur-based artist to a renowned news agency, the sandalwood box "is 15 inches in height and consists of different parts. The carving is based on the peacock theme. A peacock figure is made on the top of the box, as well as all around it with fine carvings in different styles."
"It took two months to make the box. The speciality of Mysore sandalwood is that it is oily. Due to the oil, its brown colour comes out and the carving on it also comes out in a wonderful way. This box is designed in a different way, inside which there are many compartments, in which different things can be kept," the report reads further.