India Shines At Obamas’ State Dinner
November 29th, 2009Source: www.nytimes.com
WASHINGTON, DC, USA, November 25, 2009: It is an old tradition, a White House dinner governed by ritual and protocol that happens to be this city’s hottest social event. But at their first state dinner on Tuesday night, President Obama and his wife, Michelle, had with distinctive touches.They invited local students to witness the arrival of the guests of honor, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, and presented a melange of musical entertainment, including A. R. Rahman, the Indian composer who wrote the score to the movie “Slumdog Millionaire.”
“He wants to set a tone that’s different,” Vishakha N. Desai, a dinner guest and the Indian-born president of the Asia Society, said of the president.
Mr. Obama greeted his guests in Hindi and hailed the contributions of Mohandas K. Gandhi and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., saying that such “giants” are “the reason why both of us can stand here tonight.”
The guest list included the directors Steven Spielberg and M. Night Shyamalan, the writer Jhumpa Lahiri, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, a Republican, and Indra Nooyi, the chief executive of PepsiCo.
There was White House honey and sage from the garden and a menu that gave vegetables and beans — including eggplants and lentils — top billing. For a White House keen on promoting fresh fruits and vegetables, what could be more serendipitous than a guest of honor who happens to be a vegetarian?
