India’s craze for gold is evident in its festivals, weddings, sweets, and even clothes. These seven examples include people who have taken their gold obsession to the next level, and demonstrate how Indians just can't get enough of bling.
The Padmanabhaswamy Temple is the richest place of worship in the world
In 2011, a team of investigators uncovered discovered a treasure trove of gold jewellery, objects and 100,000 historic gold coins in the underground vaults of Kerala’s 16th-century Padmanabhaswamy Temple. Its total wealth is estimated to be around $15 billion and more riches are believed to be hidden in the vaults.
The Tirupati Temple isn’t too far behind
The Tirupati Temple has around 4.5 tonnes of gold deposited in banks, which gets an interest of around 80 kg of the yellow metal every year. The gold comes from offerings and donating by devotees in the form of biscuits and ornaments. The temple was considered to be the richest in India, until it was toppled by the Padmanabhaswamy Temple.
An Indian holds the record for the world’s costliest shirt
In 2013, Indian businessman Datta Phuge got a shirt made of gold, worth Rs 12.7 million or $240,000, at a shop in Pune. Phuge's shirt is made up of 14,000 pieces of 22-carat gold and was put together by 15 craftsmen over 16 days. Weighing 3.32 kg, it earned him a Guinness World Record for the world’s costliest shirt.
He has competition from another Indian
In 2014, politician Pankaj Parakh decided to celebrate his 45th birthday in style by getting a bespoke golden shirt. Made from 18-22 carat gold, it weighed slightly more than four kg and cost around Rs 1.3 crore or $213,000. It was made by 20 artisans over two months.
Pune is going crazy .....gold plated jaguar Crazy punekars vs crazy arab pic.twitter.com/5S0Sd0go0k— Vikas Gadade (@Vikasarkar) March 31, 2015
This Pune businessman’s gold-plated Jaguar
Earlier this year, Pune businessman Sachin Khese gold wrapped his black Jaguar for a sum of Rs 2 lakh. The proud owner stated that he’d given his car a makeover to ward off ill luck.
There's also a golden Tata Nano
In 2011, Tata Motors unveiled a luxurious version of their budget Nano car, crafted with gold, silver and gem stones. Tata Nano was originally launched as the world’s cheapest car, but this “gold jewellery” version was made from 80 kg of 22 karat gold, 15 kg of silver, and numerous gemstones.
Bappi Lahiri’s gold chains
The flamboyant Bollywood music composer is infamous for his gold chains and other jewellery, which have been procured from shrines around the world.