NEW DELHI — Amid all the talk about bilateral trade and nuclear issues between the U.S. and India here since President Obama arrived for a three- day trip on Sunday, local newspapers and the twitterati have played up quite another angle.
The emphasis has been on the three changes of outfit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday. He was hailed as a fashion icon for the stylized Indian wear that he has adopted and personalized.
While First Lady Michelle Obama’s outfit on Sunday – which was designed by Bhibhu Mohopatra, an Indian designer who now lives in New York – caught the attention of social media as she stepped off the plane in a blue flower-patterned dress, Modi unwittingly appeared to have given her a run for the fashion space. The highlight of his attire for the day was the dark blue Indian style high necked suit — the bandhgala — with thin white stripes that he wore for meetings on Sunday afternoon. It turned out the stripes were, in fact, the prime minister’s name, “Narendra Damodardas Modi,” woven into the fabric, appearing like stripes from a distance.
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When he arrived at the airport to greet Obama on Sunday morning, Modi wore the traditional kurta-pyjama and his trademark Nehru vest, with a bright orange stole adding a dash of color to his outfit. In the evening, for the banquet hosted by Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, the prime minister was stylish in a gray bandhgala. (Michelle Obama wore Carolina Herrera.)
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On Monday morning, at the Republic Day parade where Obama was elegant in his dark suit (and his wife wore Joseph Altuzarra), making history as the first U.S. president to be chief guest for the event, Modi stood out for the extraordinary plumage of his head gear, a traditional bandhini turban from the state of Rajasthan.