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MULTIMEDIA
May 27, 2012
 
 
 
 
 
 

Obamas welcome guests with curry at dinner

President Barack Obama with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the state dinner.
26 November 2009 / AP, WASHINGTON
The first state dinner of the Obama White House had it all: Oscar-winning entertainers, Hollywood moguls, a knockout guest chef and even a wardrobe malfunction.

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.

“Everyone looks great; we’re feeling great,” White House social secretary Desiree Rogers told a phalanx of cameras as she arrived, betraying no hint of nerves at the biggest social event of the Obama presidency.

First lady Michelle Obama had been a little more forthcoming earlier in the day when she described the trick to pulling off the event as sort of like being a swan: calm and serene above the water but “paddling like mad, going crazy underneath.”

The 338-person guest list was a mix of Washington insiders, Hollywood A-listers, prominent figures from the Indian community in the United States and Obama friends, family and campaign donors

The 338-person guest list was a mix of Washington insiders, Hollywood A-listers, prominent figures from the Indian community in the US, and Obama friends, family and campaign donors.

Attorney General Eric Holder patted his pocket as he arrived and said his kids had prepped him with all sorts of questions for tablemate Steven Spielberg. UN Ambassador Susan Rice, asked who she was most looking forward to chatting with, ventured, “I’d have to name four.” Then didn’t.

Sen. Bob Casey had to scramble when his ensemble went rogue at just the wrong moment: His cummerbund dropped to the floor just as he and his wife stopped to pose before a scrum of about 40 reporters and photographers.

Alfre Woodard and Blair Underwood provided the celebrity quotient, but neither could come up with a connection to India. Underwood said he was there because of Woodard. She said she was there because she’s on the president’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.

Indian-themed dancers perform during the entertainment segment of a state dinner hosted by US President Barack Obama for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the South Lawn of the White House on Tuesday. Hundreds of guests attended the ceremony.

The entertainment lineup was stellar. Singer-actress Jennifer Hudson and jazz vocalist and composer Kurt Elling, both Grammy Award winners from the Obamas’ hometown of Chicago, were performing. Hudson also won an Academy Award for her role in “Dreamgirls.” Indian musician and singer A.R. Rahman, who won two Academy Awards for the music in “Slumdog Millionaire,” also was in the lineup.

Among the other guests: Hollywood moguls David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg. Guests with ties to India included spiritual adviser Deepak Chopra, director M. Night Shyamalan and PepsiCo chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi. Katie Couric of CBS News, Brian Williams of NBC News, Robin Roberts of ABC News and CNN Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta were among the media representatives invited. Oprah Winfrey was not on the list, but her best friend, Gayle King, was among the guests. Also there Obama friends Eric Whitaker and Martin Nesbitt, along with Obama’s half sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, and her husband, Konrad; and Marian Robinson, the first lady’s mother.

 
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