Kanubai Asodaria, a diamond trader in Surat, India, will be celebrating this year’s Ganesh festival as he has for the past 10 years—with a 182.53 carat rough diamond that came out of the ground in the shape of the Hindu god Lord Ganesh.  Asodaria buys rough diamonds in bulk from Antwerp and then beings them back to Surat for cutting and polishing.  Ten years ago, he noticed that the largest of the stones appeared to have the outlines of a trunk, eyes, ears and legs. 

Mined in South Africa, it came out of the fields in that shape.  Six years ago, a London suction house offered Asodaria a large amount of money for the stone, but the 52 year-old wouldn’t sell his prize.  He has also refused to have it polished, since that would cause it to lose its divine shape. 

The Indian Diamond Institute in Surat certified the stone.  It is a yellowish-grey, approximately 48mm high, 32mm wide, 20mm thick, and weighs 36.5 grams. 

At the same time, in Hubli, Karnataka, a man-made idol is to be the center of the Ganesh festival in Bengaluru.  A young artist, Mahesh Murgod, used 80,000 American diamonds and over 800 colored stones on his 0.30 meter likeness of the god.  Working for five months with his parents and sister, Murgod covered the idol with gems to make it worthy of the festival. 

Murgod stated that the piece is worth Rs 2 Lakh, and that his family had been creating this kind of art for four generations.  In his 18 years of working in this family business, he says he has created over 1,000 Ganesh idols with varying appearances and values.

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