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PDATE: A post about the dinner with an updated guest list is herePresident Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrived in New Delhi at 3:30 PM local time, and they will dine this evening at the New Delhi residence of India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Mrs. Gursharan Kaur. Both were at the airport to greet the First Couple when they landed. The Prime Minister even got a hug from the President. (Above)
Tonight's event at Singh's 7 Race Course Road residence is the first of two dinners honoring President Obama during his three-day trip to India. On Monday, there will be a more elaborate and formal State Dinner at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of President Pratibha Patil. The Prime Minister was honored with the first State Dinner of the Obama administration, in November of 2009. Tonight's dinner is closed to press, but of course the guest list has been leaked--in part because one attendee announced invites on Twitter. (Above: PM Singh greets President Obama at the airport in New Delhi as he and Mrs. Obama looks on)
The dinner begins at 7:50 PM, and follows a half hour bilateral meeting between President Obama and Mr. Singh, their first of the President's visit, which will set the stage for wider-ranging talks on Monday. The dinner guest list includes politicos, a bit of glam from Bollywood, and academics. (Above: Mrs. Kaur holds hands with Mrs. Obama as the President and Prime Minister pose for a photo)From Bollywood, legendary actress and social activist Shabana Azmi and her husband, poet-screenwriter Javed Akhtar, who has just been elected to Parliament, are on the guest list. On Nov. 2, Azmi tweeted:
Javed n I invitd by Prime Minister 4 dinner with OBAMA on 7th Nov.USA full of doubts whether he will get a 2nd term. Im pretty sure he will (sic)
From the American delegation, National Security Adviser Tom Donillon, USAID administrator Rajiv Shah, and Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett are expected at the dinner. From the President's Cabinet: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, and US ambassador to India Timothy J. Roemer are invited. From the Prime Minister's Cabinet, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister P. Chidambaram, and External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna are expected.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who heads India’s ruling coalition, is reportedly sitting with President Obama and Mrs. Obama. She was married to Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi before his assassination, and thus was the daughter in law of Indira Gandhi, who was also assassinated; none are related to the President's icon, Mahatma Gandhi. Sonia Gandhi's son, party general secretary Rahul Gandhi, and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah are also invited.
Top aides to the Prime Minister, including National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and Principal Secretary T.K.A. Nair, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, India’s ambassador to US Meera Shankar and Deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia are also on the guest list.
Najeeb Jung, an energy expert who is currently Vice Chancellor of Jami Millia Islamia, a university in New Delhi, has also been invited.
*Top photo by AP; second from Reuters
