Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seen in new avatar — attired in traditional Tamil dress of dhoti, shirt and shawl to greet Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the second Informal Summit at the coastal town here – also called Mahabalipuram. Mr Modi’s attire reflected the Tamil culture, tradition and Tamil sentiment, as he skirted the usual Kurta
and Pyjama.
Modi welcomed Xi, who was attired ‘informal’ in black trouser and white shirt, near Arjunan’s penance, one of the three places to be visited by them at the World UNESCO Heritage site. After shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries, both of them had a pep talk and then walked through the heritage sites of Shore Temple and Five Rathas. During the visit, Modi explained the historical importance of these places built by the Pallavas during the seventh century.
Of late, Modi’s love for Tamil language was well known and he has made it a point to speak a few words during his international visits. During his speech at the recent UN General Assembly last month Modi highlighted India’s message of inclusiveness quoting the Tamil poet Kaniyan Pungundranar who lived some 3,000 years ago and said “Yaadhum oore yaavarum kelir (“We belong to all places and we belong to everyone”. “The sense of belonging beyond borders is unique to India,” he had said.
Even in his address at the Howdy-Modi event in Houston he greeted the audience in Tamil – among other Indian languages – saying ”Yaavarum Sowkiyam” (All are fine). Addressing BJP workers at the Chennai airport recently, Mr Modi has said that his speech on the Tamil language in the United States has become a talking point across America.
“When I spoke in Tamil in the US and about the heritage of the Tamil language, it was received well and is now reverberating across the US,” Mr Modi said. Not long ago, the BJP was dismissed in southern India and also in some parts of eastern India as essentially a ‘North Indian party’ which had an overwhelming love and fascination of Hindi. (UNI)
