The Obama’s Diwali in India

Source: www.nytimes.com

 (Photo : President Obama danced with students during a Diwali Candle Lighting and Performance at the Holy Name High School in Mumbai on Sunday)

MUMBAI, INDIA : Obama was dancing around questions in India– figuratively speaking — on Sunday, he also participated in some literal dancing, showing off some moves that, to the delight of photographers traveling with him, are likely to provide iconic images of his trip. President Obama danced with students during a Diwali Candle Lighting and Performance, after student dancers doing a show for him implored him to join in.

Earlier, Michelle Obama enthusiastically swayed to Bollywood tunes, to the delight of the Indian media. Her husband, in contrast, gamely joined in.

Indians seemed to have affection and reverence toward Mr. Obama. In interviews, students and faculty members here uniformly spoke kindly of him, praising everything including his respect for “Gandhian principles.” On the question of how he applies those principles, Mr. Obama sounded a note of humility.

“I’m often frustrated by how far I fall short of their example,” he said, referring to Mohandas K. Gandhi, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln, all of whom he said he was studying. “But I do think that at my best what I’m trying to do is to apply principles that fundamentally come down to something shared in all the world’s religions, which is to see yourself in other people.”