Royal Mint of United Kingdom has launched for the first time a gold bullion bar to celebrate Diwali.

There is an image of Hindu goddess Laxmi engraved on it. They have launched it ahead of an auspicious occasion of Dhanteras that takes place before the celebration of Diwali.

In the UK, the population of Indians permanently residing there is high and during festivals like Diwali shopping for food, clothing, ornaments, gold, etc. spikes significantly.

Keeping this in view, the Royal Mint has decided to take this initiative. The launch of the gold bar with the image of the Hindu deity on it represents the ongoing commitment to celebrate diversity and promote the inclusion of different cultures in the UK.

The gold bar bullion that can also be called ‘Lakshmi bar’ contains 20g of 999.9 fine gold with Goddess Lakshmi engraved on it.

The image of Lakshmi on this precious metal has been designed by the Royal Mint Product designer Emma Noble. The make of this gold bar has been done in collaboration with Swami Narayan Temple Cardiff and a lot of care has been taken to ensure cultural authenticity and accuracy.

The Divisional Director for Precious metals at the Royal mint, Andrew Dickey said that they wanted to develop a product that imbibes beauty and tradition for the festival of Diwali and Gold is supposed to be an auspicious and traditional gift for this festival.

The idea of developing a gold bar with a Hindu deity’s image seems a promising one. He further said that they collaborated with Nilesh Kabari of Shi Swaminarayan Temple to make sure the image of the Hindu goddess of wealth is represented appropriately and accurately.

The retail price of the gold bar is 1,080 pounds (Rs 1 lakh) and it will be available for purchase from the official royal mint website.

The gold bar will be blessed at Swaminarayan temple during the ‘Lakshmi pooja’ ceremony on the day of Diwali, which will be attended by the Royal Mint representatives on 4^th November. Nilesh Kabari appreciated the way Emma has elaborated every detail on such a small surface in perfect harmony.

On the bar, the image of Lakshmi has been designed as she is standing on a lotus with her two arms holding a lotus in each arm and elephants standing in the front. In the Hindu religion, the Goddess Lakshmi is the Goddess of wealth. The four arms of Lakshmi as depicted on the bar, represent four goals of life- Dharma (Ethics), Artha (Wealth), Kama (Love, Emotion), and Moksha (Liberation of the soul).

The lotus in her two hands is symbolic of Knowledge and self-realization. Two elephants represent strength and activity and water represents fertility. On the packaging, the symbol of OM is written in Devanagari.   In the UK, the festival of Diwali is celebrated with great zeal and enthusiasm in different places.

The festival becomes a binding source of diverse ethnicity. In Trafalgar Square Diwali celebration is held every year and people from diverse cultures in London gather and enjoy dance, music, food, and crafts every year, needless to say, it becomes the festival of everyone.