Ten things we discovered about Narendra Modi thanks to Barack Obama
#1. Like the strong woman of Europe Angela Merkel, he is a great recycler of clothes. He wore the red paisley shawl (in a city of kani and jamewar shawls, he has to be different) when praying at Pashupatinath temple on his Nepal visit. He wore it again when greeting the Obamas as they touched down from Air Force One. It was so striking that even Barack Obama mentioned it, repeating what an American newspaper called him -- a fashion icon to rival Michelle Obama.
#2. He knows how global celebrity works. The most famous people in the world, from Madonna to Oprah, Beyonce to Sachin, are known only by their first names. So Modi is pretty much on the money when he calls Obama Barack. No doubt it will help the President prepare for life after retirement, as an international celebrity. Modi should know -- as Obama pointed out in his Joint Statement, Modi is already a Bollywood star.
#3. Modi knows how to stage a spectacle. Chai pe charcha was a key part of his election campaign and he carried it to Hyderabad House (with lotus flowers in every water body visible) in a brilliant staging of walk and talk, pouring a cup of tea for his new found friend, over a conversation, which he called a gupp. Modi knows every visit has its symbolic moment--it was the swing with Xi Jinping of China, the selfie with Tony Abbott of Australia and the hug with Shinzo Abe of Japan.
#4. He sleeps three hours a day. In Delhi, the prime minister's four hours of sleep is the stuff of legend. It strikes terror in the heart of his ministers and bureaucrats. Now we hear it is actually three hours. Impressive. And scary for those who work with him.
#5. He is a hugger. When Obama touched down in India, he was embraced by Modi with unusual vigour--in a manner reminscent of Fidel Castro who leapt at Indira Gandhi at the NAM Summit in Delhi. He then proceeded to shake his hand for an inordinately long time, at one point holding both Michelle and Barack Obama's hands in a cute circle.
#6. He is not unafraid of colour. He wore a light coloured bandgallah to President Pranab Mukherjee's dinner. Perhaps he was trying to emulate his friend Barack's tan suit moment.
#7. His bromance with Obama is not so shuddh and desi. Contrary to all speculation, the much discussed menu for the working lunch at Hyderabad House had a substantial non vegetarian choice, from chicken to mutton.
#8. The crocodile story is right. And here we thought it was merely apocryphal. Now that Barack has mentioned it, we know it to be true. Our prime minister is a tough guy.
#9. His learning of languages is inspiring. If Modi is learning to speak English more fluently as evident in his speech at the Joint Statement, then Obama did his best to speak Hindi -- mera pyaar bhara namaskar, he said to much applause.
#10. Modi knows how to gift, whether it is the Bhagwad Gita or a book on his hero Swami Vivekananda. Modi gave Obama a copy of the first telegram from America to India's Constituent Assembly. He has reportedly asked for 100 Banarsi saris for Michelle Obama, who seems to have made Bibhu Mohapatra the official designer of the visit, and could do with a spot of colour.