Joe Biden and Modi Regale guests at White House dinner

Washington: Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the stellar achievements of Indian-Americans in his remarks at the state dinner in which he had his high-profile guests often in laughter. Both President Joe Biden and Modi regaled their guests with some light moments while also being generous to each other, with the prime minister ending his speech with a toast to his wonderful hosts, including first lady Jill Biden, and the bond between the two countries.

With Modi having a busy day attending several events, he said he had forgotten the count of speeches he made on Thursday. Apparently referring to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol who surprised guests by singing a song during a similar state dinner hosted for him in April, Modi said Biden's hospitality has moved his guests to sing, evoking laughter from the guests. He then wished that he too had the singing talent that "I could have also sung a song."

Modi recalled that during a dinner hosted for him in 2014, he could not eat anything as he was on a Navratri fast while Biden, then vice-president, often enquired with concern that if there is an urging he can eat during the fast. "Your wish to feed me is now being fulfilled," Modi said. In his comments, Biden said light-heartedly that both leaders raising the toast do not drink.

He dwelt on the two countries' historic ties and praised the contributions of Indian Americans. The President also spoke about Rabindranath Tagore's visit to the US, and his impact on the ideas here and invoked his famous poem 'Where mind is without fear'. In his address, Modi said Indian-Americans have played a significant role in the all-round development of the nation they live in and also in strengthening the India-US relationship.

The State Dinner was hosted in his honour by Bidens at the North Lawn of the White House. More than 400 guests were invited for the dinner and they included big names in the tech world and billionaire industrialists such as Mukesh Ambani, Anand Mahindra, Google CEO Sunder Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Apple CEO Tim Cook. During his address at the dinner, Modi raised a toast for his "wonderful" hosts.

He raised it for good health, prosperity and the pursuit of happiness to liberty, equality and fraternity, and to the ever-lasting bonds of friendship between India and the US.