Phones and other electronic devices were taken away, but the experience was memorable enough for Viren Mayani that he had no need for a recording.
Mr. Mayani, an Atlanta-based consultant, was one of at least a dozen Georgians among more than 700 Indian community leaders who attended a private event at the Ritz-Carlton DC to hear from Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Washington.
Having sat down with U.S. President Donald Trump on the trip, Mr. Modi arrived only after the crowd was thoroughly vetted and allowed into a packed ballroom, where they were seated based on predefined codes distributed via email after their attendance was confirmed.
During his unscripted speech itself, Mr. Modi lived up to his billing as a man of the people who inspires as well as he governs, Mr. Mayani said in a long note sent to Global Atlanta via email.
Dipping into some seemingly prosaic issues that have been the hallmark of his style, the prime minister discussed measures to reduce the hazards of smoke inhalation among women in villages by replacing wood fires with gas stoves for cooking, as well as the need to protect farmers from price gouging on fertilizers.
He also touched on an array of reforms, including a massive plan to clean up the sacred Ganges River (for which a video was played at the event), initiatives to improve access to sanitation and education for Indians and efforts to boost financial inclusion and transparency by digitizing government services and benefit payments.
Mr. Modi also waxed diplomatic for a moment, hinting at a newfound swagger for a country that is asserting itself globally under his leadership. Specifically, he made a note of the country’s resolve against terrorism, a scourge the world is starting to comprehend just as India has for decades, Mr. Mayani said.
He spoke about how, now, the world understands terrorism without him having to explain extremist efforts by outsiders infiltrating in India and creating havoc routinely over the past half century. He vociferously stated that India has the resilience to engage peacefully and yet the strength to launch a targeted effort to destroy evil.
After the speech, the ballroom was cleared and photos were taken that would later be distributed to the smartphone-less guests via an email associated with the code they were given upon registration.
For Mr. Mayani, it was a great way to commemorate an event that he will never forget.
“I was tickled to my core and humbled beyond measure to have been included,” he said.
According to Mr. Mayani, other Georgians who attended were:
- Dr. Jagdish Sheth
- Madhu Madhusudan
- Sonjui Kumar
- Shiv Agarwal
- Subash & Raj Razdan
- Dr. Amitabh Sharma
- Narendra Reddy
- Dr Vasu Patel
- Dr. Dhiru Patel
- Dr Sunil Savili
- Archie Seshadri
Consul General Nagesh Singh visited Washington during the prime minister’s visit as well.
Read more from Mr. Mayani below:
Viren Statement
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