Obama hosted one of the best dinners: PM

The banquet hosted by US President Barack Obama on Tuesday was a "unique experience" and "one of the best dinners". This is how Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described, on Friday, the gala event  when asked in Port-of-Spain to give a sense of function hosted in his honour at the White House.

"It was a unique experience. The dinner was lavish and extravagant. The atmosphere and the layout was outstanding," Singh told media-persons during a brief interaction at a reception hosted by the Indian Embassy in his honour. He said President Obama and his wife Michelle had laid out "one of the best dinners and went out of the way" and was a "magnificent" event. "It was a great experience and I enjoyed being there. It was one of the best dinners that I have attended," he said, adding the people, who had come in and the gathering in itself, is a statement.

The prime minister noted that the banquet was attended by many distinguished guests from various walks of American society. "It was a pleasure to meet them all and be in their company. A number of them were of Indian origin and I felt proud at meeting them." Hailing Obama, Singh said the US President has caught the imagination of the people around the world.

Image: US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama  welcome Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur for a State Dinner at the White House.

Photograph: Paresh Gandhi