Families work for months to buy a quarter sized piece of Gold in India. Why? There a few very key reasons for every family of India owning gold. One, gold is used as a form of money in India. If a person is having an emergency and needs money, they can very well turn in the gold in exchange for cash and get what they need to get done completed. Another reason gold is so important is that it has high religious background and significance. Gold represents the Goddess of wealth and prosperity. Gold in India is considered a status symbol as well. The more gold a person has, the wealthier a person is. The middle class and wealthier families are recently outnumbering the poor, as India has an economic boost, becoming the world’s largest market for the metal, which is gold.
India has a population of 1.2 million, and imports of gold rose 34.9 percent (553 tons) as of 2011. There are more than 300,000 jewelers that specialize in gold, while gold sold for $6.65 per 10 grams.
“In India, it always was and still is, much more than just a precious metal. It is part of the fabric of our culture and an inseparable part of our belief system. It is the essence from which the universe was created. In a dark and lifeless universe, the Creator deposited a seed in the waters he had made from his own body. The seed became a golden egg, bright and radiant as the sun. From this cosmic egg of gold was born the incarnation of the Creator Himself – Brahma. From the root word Hri meaning imperishable, comes Hiranya, the ancient name for gold. Brahma is referred to as Hiranyagarbha – the one born of gold”, (Pinank Mehta, Bombay Times – October 27, 2001).
Gold is India is more than just a metal or even a precious metal. It is a way of life and being. It is a sacredness, religious way of living.
