Prime Minister Narendra Modi was pleasantly surprised when China's First Lady Peng Liyuan hummed a Hindi song of the 1951 Bollywood classic Awara at the Sabarmati riverfront on Wednesday evening. Peng was accompanying husband Xi Jinping on his state visit to India which began from Gujarat.
“The first lady, who is an art aficionado and one of China’s most popular singers, surprised the Prime Minister by revealing that she was fond of the song. “She hummed a few lines of the song,” a state minister said.
The title song of the film Awara written by Shailendra and sung by Mukesh is one of Bollywood's most favourite international songs which has been translated and sung in over a dozen languages, including Chinese and Russian. This song was also reportedly China's founding father, Chairman Mao's favourite song.
Art show for First Lady
The first lady was informed in advance that a special art and cultural show had been put up for her at the Riverfront. She was so interested in it that she reached the venue 13 minutes before President Xi and Prime Minister Modi. She reportedly skipped a visit to Gandhi Ashram to reach the Riverfront where she enjoyed various cultural events.“She came in early with her entourage and listened in rapt attention to musical performance and watched garba, Adivasi troupe dance and a taali garba called Moraliyo interested her, a minister who was accompanying her said. Peng is a qualified singer and has performed internationally, including in New York, Paris and Vienna. As Gujarati folk artistes rendered various numbers, she tried to comprehend the music and tapped her fingers on her clutch. “It was perfect synchrony. Music has no borders. The First Lady immensely enjoyed herself. “She is a folk artiste, so we set up the show,” a Gujarat government functionary said. The first lady also enjoyed tribal dance performance.
Munjal Mehta of Tabla Talim Sanstha, who performed at the Riverfront with 16 children welcomed the First Lady. They renderd “Hy uan ying” (welcome in Chinese) on the tabla.
The first lady spent 10 minutes listening to the troupe and appreciated their performance. Mehta said Peng was very curious about the tabla and asked her interpreter details of how the instrument is played.
Hemang Vyas of Saptdhwani Kalavrund, a Surat-based group, which performed prachin (traditional) Garba, “Jaadu bha rya maara manda heryaa,” said that the First Lady was impressed with their performance.
Happy birthday
Sources said that she wished Modi a happy birthday as he welcomed her. Staffers at the Hyatt where she stayed for a while and officials present at the Riverfront applauded her modesty and said she made it a point to thank and appreciate everyone at all time. Gujarat government officials confirmed that she brought along over 10 kg of special Chinese tea as gifts to Indians. She also consulted and suggested her husband that they make Modi's birthday special. They ordered a special 8-kg cake for Modi and took it along with them to the Riverfront where a formal dinner had been hosted for them. The first lady was gifted a three-layered silver necklace and a Kutchi red chaniya choli by Chief Minister Anandiben Patel. Modi gifted a khadi jacket to Xi.
