Obama and the Indian flavour
November 8th, 2010 - 9:00 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, Nov 8 (IANS) From “bahut dhanyavad” to “Jai Hind”, US President Barack Obama Monday regaled Indian people with his knowledge of the country’s ancient wisdom, history and cultural diversity.
In his 45-minute speech at the Central Hall of Indian parliament, Obama referred to the visit of Swami Vivekananda to his hometown Chicago a long time ago and to the famed Panchatantra stories.
As the MPs applauded him repeatedly, in the end giving him a standing ovation, Obama spoke about Dalit icon B.R. Ambedkar for penning the “words of the (Indian) constitution”.
There were references in his speech to a village in Punjab, to the bylanes of Chandni Chowk, an old section of Kolkata and to a high-rise in Bangalore.
The president did not forget Rabindranath Tagore, quoting the poet’s immortal words: “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high.”
Obama recalled the name of his hero Mahatma Gandhi five times — and mentioned India 61 times.
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Tags: ancient wisdom, barack obama, chandni chowk, cultural diversity, hometown chicago, immortal words, indian constitution, indian flavour, indian parliament, jai, kolkata, mahatma gandhi, minute speech, mps, panchatantra stories, punjab, rabindranath tagore, standing ovation, swami, where the mind is without fear