Parties You Will Never Get Into

For the first state dinner of his administration, US President Barack Obama did not scrimp on pomp and pageantry. On November 24, 2009, he poured them all on India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur.

For a first, the event broke away from tradition on several levels. First, the President lavished the foremost state dinner not on Mexico or Canada, but on India. Furthermore, he held it under a specially built tent on the White House South Lawn, not in the State Dining Room.

Obama’s tent victoriously atoned for its derring-do. Insulated against the cold, rainy November evening, the tent proved to be a seamless extension of White House. Eleven chandeliers, hanging from a cavernous canopy, radiated glorious ambient light on invitees. Better yet, the magnolia-adorned walls offered them a view of the Washington Monument.

Due to the tent’s expansive capacity, 400 VIPs, including top Indian diplomats, were able to come. Inside, the sea of bodies made for a curious mélange of tuxedos, gowns and saris. In deference to the occasion, First Lady Michelle Obama donned a gown designed by India’s Naeem Khan.

There to toast the Prime Minister was a flotilla of Democrats, including State Secretary Hillary Clinton, Social Secretary Desirée Rogers, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, plus a few Republicans, also came.

Unsurprisingly, Hollywood sent a few emissaries like director Steven Spielberg and actors Blair Underwood and Alfre Woodard. Singer-actress Jennifer Hudson and Indian-born musician A.R. Rahman, along with jazz crooner Kurt Elling were also around to provide entertainment. From media came CBS anchorwoman Katie Couric and New York Times columnist Tom Friedman.

Place settings consisted of state service plates inherited from the Eisenhower, Clinton, and George W. Bush administrations. From them, guests ate, among others, salad with rocket leaves harvested from Michelle Obama’s White House Kitchen Garden.

Tables were draped in apple green linens and came with gilded cane chairs. On each table sat a combination of hydrangeas, roses, and sweet peas in colors not unlike the peacock, India’s national bird.

On top of Hudson and Rahman, guests had entertainment in the form of The United States Marine Band. Marvin Hamlisch also directed an ensemble from the National Symphony Orchestra.