Obamas Host Singhs

President Obama makes a toast in honor of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

President Obama makes a toast in honor of India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. If you watch the you tube video here, it appears he actually said “Prime Minister Mohammad Singh”.  He welcomed all in hindi, “aapka suagut hai.”

This is President Obama’s first state dinner also. A mix of Indian/ American Indian and American dignitaries from Hollywood and Washington were invited.  Particularly noticed were Governor Bobby Jindal, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Director Shyamalan,  Deepak Chopra, AR Rahman,  Director Steven Speilberg, Katie Curic amongst the guest list of 338.

President Obama Hosts State Dinner in Honor of Prime Minister of India

Traditional evening gowns vied with saris of vibrant colors Tuesday night at the high-glitz dinner in honor of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. There were turbans and bindis as well as diamonds and brocades. Dinner guests were treated to an eye-catching scheme of green and purple, from the green curry surrounding the prawns to the purple floral arrangements paying homage to the peacock, India’s national bird. Dinner menu was predominantly vegetarian as Indian Prime Minister is vegetarian.

President Barack Obama, in his dinner toast, said the setting conjured images of India, where special events are “often celebrated under the cover of a beautiful tent.”

For the dinner, Mrs. Obama wore a sleeveless, gold and cream colored sheath dress with an overlay of silver and matching shawl by Indian-born designer Naeem Khan. At the State Dining Room event earlier in the day, the first lady wore a skirt by Rachel Roy, who is Indian.