10 things you might have missed during Obama’s visit

New Delhi: US President Barack Obama’s visit to India was a fruitful one. The US President addressed the young think tanks at the Siri Fort on Tuesday, accompanied by wife Michelle, on his last day in the national capital.

Obama’s visit witnessed several ties being agreed upon by the two countries, like the nuclear deal and the rejuvenation of defence ties. Obama and Modi on Sunday broke a seven-year-old logjam in operationalising their landmark civil nuclear deal besides deciding to jointly produce military hardware including advanced unmanned aerial vehicles during their talks in New Delhi.

NewsMobile brings you a few facts that you may not have known about Obama’s visit to India.

Obama was seen donning a crisp B-suit in his three-day visit, while Modi donned the Nehru jacket in most occasions. Often praised for his dressing style, Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Hyderabad House function was seen wearing a pinstripe ‘bandhgala’ suit. But the pin stripes had his name ‘Narendra Damodardas Modi’ woven into the fabric. However, Modi isn’t the first political leader to wear his name on his outfit. Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak is said to have worn a suit with his name stitched all over it.

 

Obama was spotted at India’s annual Republic Day parade, sitting among his fellow dignitaries, removing a piece of chewing gum from his mouth. The President, who has been known to chew Nicorette nicotine replacement gum, was blasted by Indian media for the act.

 

Barack Obama arrived in his own highly-secured bomb-proof vehicle at the Rajpath that marked a departure from tradition for the Chief Guest at the R-Day parade. The Republic Day Chief Guest normally travels with the President of India in his car from Rashtrapati Bhawan.

 

First Lady Michelle Obama did not accompany the US President either for the ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhawan or his visit to Raj Ghat. Michelle stayed at the grand presidential suite of ITC Maurya for almost the entire day after arriving in Delhi, before finally making an appearance at the President’s dinner at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

 

Michelle Obama’s knee-length floral dress was designed by Bibhu Mohapatra, a famous Indian designer who lives in New York but was born in Rourkela in Odisha. The suit was paired with a matching coat and black pumps.

 

Delhiites were exposed to unprecedented levels of security, when Obama landed here. However, at Obama’s formal reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan around noon, the multiple layers of security were clearly inadequate to keep out a stray dog that broke through the cordon and ambled down the forecourt of the Bhavan, giving a taste of the real India to the visiting American delegation.

 

Actor Kal Penn accompanied the US President Barack Obama to India. The former Associate Director of Public Engagement in the White House had tea by the roadside, clicked a selfie with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and photographed cooks making food in Old Delhi.

 

On India’s 66th Republic Day, a woman leading the guard of honour became the most trending news. Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Pooja Thakur created history to become the first woman to lead the guard of honour for a dignitary. Pooja Thakur escorted the US President for the inspection of the tri-service guard of honour. The lady Wing Commander’s duty labelled as the most empowering happening and the theme of the Republic Day was bracketed into ‘Nari Shakti’ (women’s empowerment).

 

Barack Obama became the first US President to attend the R-Day parade. He is also the first US President to visit India twice as President.

 

Last, but not the least. Obama has a strong liking for Bollywood movies. It was apparently cleared when he narrated a dialogue from a famous Bollywood flick. It was three minutes into Obama’s speech at Siri Fort, and he already used five Hindi words. “Namaste!’ ‘Bahut danyavad’, ‘Bhangra’ and ‘Diwali’. But then he topped everything by quoting a classic SRK line from DDLJ. “Senorita..bade bade desho mein..” I guess you know the rest. He was also seen speaking Hindi at the joint presser on Sunday. Words like ‘Aap sab ko mera pyar bhara namaskar’, ‘chai pe charcha’ dominated the day.