New Delhi: At the end of the official State Visit of the Prime Minister, American singer Mary Millben bowed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked for his grace after performing India's national anthem Jana Gana Mana.
At an invitation-only event held by the United States Indian Community Foundation (USICF) at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Centre in Washington, DC, Ms Millben, 38, performed the Indian national song.
Mary Millben, a well-known African-American actress and singer in Hollywood, is well-known in India for singing the country's anthems, Jan Gana Mana and Om Jai Jagdish Hare. Ms. Millben had expressed her "deep honour" to sing the Indian anthem for Prime Minister Modi before the occasion.
The singer said in a statement, "I am very humbled to play the Indian national anthem for Prime Minister Modi and in celebration of the country and people I have come to call my family. I have sung the American national anthem and patriotic music for four successive US presidents.
"The actual substance of the US-India relationship may be found in the words of both the American and Indian anthems, which both speak to the ideals of democracy and freedom. Only a free people can define a free nation, she asserted.
The world has immense respect for PM Modi because of his strong spiritual aura and commitment to Indian culture and traditions.
The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea caressed PM Modi's feet last month during his visit to the Pacific Island country. During his departure from the country, a man and a woman made a similar gesture by bowing before the prime minister and touching the ground, according to images from the airport. PM Modi immediately returned their bow by folding his hands.
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