Earlier this month, a friend of mine gifted a diamond pendant to his wife on her first birthday after their wedding. Next month, my wife will celebrate her first birthday since we tied the knot and she’s already (very cutely) hinted at a ‘surprise’ that she would like!

Well, I love her very much and would do my best to get her all that she desires…but time flies! Before I realize, a couple of months will have passed and there’ll be Karvachauth (a day when a woman fasts and prays for her husband’s long life), 21^st November will be our 1^st wedding anniversary, 2^nd Feb will be our 10^th anniversary (the day when I first confessed my love to her!) and then again her birthday next year…Of course, there will be scores of festivals and occasions in between and my wife being a Sikh and I a Hindu and we generally being a very secular family, will be celebrating everything from Holi and Diwali to Gur Purab to Eid to Christmas…and then go to Goa for New Year’s! A diamond for each occasion? Well, I’m a (still looking for good work) actor and a (doing reasonably well) voice, speech n language consultant. I’ve been training news anchors and reporters at NDTV for a while now. NDTV is the most respected news company in India and they pay me well…but not that well!

For all the husbands and boyfriends…basically all men, there’s relief. Researchers in Mexico have discovered a new way to make diamond : using tequila! When the spirit is heated under pressure, it produces diamond structures which are able to conduct electricity. For the experiment, the scientists heated 80% proof ‘tequila blanco’ - which has a short aging process and is bottled soon after distillation, in a low pressure chamber. The drink formed crystals that have diamond’s properties. It seems that some kinds of tequila seem naturally to have the right mix of atoms, to create diamond. In fact, researchers believe that any type of alcohol can be used to produce diamond! 

I wish this diamond is out in the market soon. I’m sure it’ll be a lot cheaper than the 'carat' variety. In fact, one could try and device a method and use the tequila at home to make these diamonds. I'll definitely give that a shot! It’ll go a long way in keeping me and my wife happy.

If diamonds are a girl’s best friend...Tequila is now, my best buddy!