By Smita Prakash

Washington, Nov.26 (ANI): In his article for the Huffington Post, Indian-American motivational speaker and management guru Deepak Chopra, who attended the State Dinner as one the guests, says: “I never expected to see so many faces of modern India as I saw Tuesday night.

The White House’s state dinner, its first of the new administration, in the midst of it all I sensed the first sprouts of a new level of understanding and partnership between India and the United States, something not achieved in all the ceremony of the President’s China visit. There, the smiles of the Chinese were backed by ruthless self-interest. Here one felt a basis of true warmth.”

“Few of us in the Indian diaspora have been very visible until recently. We amount to an insignificant voting bloc at 2.6 million, but looking around the room, I saw much more than the stereotype of doctors, motel owners, and dubious accents answering the phone across the world. The Obama administration showed a sure touch, offering assurance to India. President Obama spoke movingly about the future of India and the United States as partners,” he added.

“The relationship between the two countries is not only beneficial for each other, but together we become a powerful force of prosperity and peace for the entire world. It seemed an epoch away that India was a closed society, aligned with Soviet socialist programs, crippled by bureaucracy, sold out to corruption,” Chpra says further in his article.