AGENCIES / CHENNAI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at the iconic seaside town of Mamallapuram near Chennai for their second informal summit today.
Prime Minister Modi, clad in Veshti or Dhoti that remains the traditional dress in most parts of South India, welcomed the visiting dignitary near the Arjuna’s Penance where they had a handshake, in a relaxed atmosphere of warmth and cordiality.
As a perfect host in tune with the value of Atithi Devo Bhava, Prime Minister Narendra Modi guided President Xi Jinping to the Arjuna’s Penance as their first stop. He explained the finer details of the motifs in the monument to the Chinese President.
Later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a view of a rock-cut temple near Arjuna’s Penance at Mamallapuram. Both the leaders in a relaxed evening, then strolled to the Krishna’s Butter Ball, a huge boulder resting on a huge rock incline and had a view of it.
The next stop for Prime Minister Modi and President Xi had been the famous Pancha Rathas or the Five Chariots of the Pandavas that have delicate single rock-cut carvings that awe the visitors for centuries. The two leaders sat together for a while in front of the Rathas in a relaxed mood, chatting with each other.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi played a perfect host, guiding Chinese President Xi Jinping around the rock-cut Five Chariots at Mamallapuram.
Mr Modi then escorted President Xi Jinping around the famous Shore Temple in Mamallapuram that sits pretty by the seafront, which is dedicated primarily to the deities of Shiva and Vishnu, though it remains a protected monument now.
Both the leaders introduced their delegation members to each other in front of the Shore Temple.
The Indian delegation included Foreign Minister Dr S. Jaishankar, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale. The Chinese delegation included prominent Polit Bureau member and Foreign Minister Wang Yi among others.
They witnessed an impressive cultural performance by troupes from Kalakshetra Foundation based in Chennai, chiefly Bharatanatyam and Kathakali.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hosted a dinner in honour of President Xi in the Shore Temple premises. The menu included traditional Tamil delicacies like Chettinad dishes, specially made sambhar and halwa.
He also gifted Annam Lamp and Thanjavur painting to President Xi.
Today’s events provide an ideal setting for tomorrow’s tete-e-tete and delegation-level talks. The principle of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ has been witnessed in the meet between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Mamallapuram this evening.
The body language and personal chemistry between the two leaders have been portraying the level of comfort they enjoy with each other. Prime Minister Modi has been sharing information on the ancient monuments at Mamallapuram that are listed in the UNESCO-World Heritage sites with enthusiasm, that have been keenly listened to by the visiting dignitary in the informal setting.
Today’s programmes would form an ideal setting for tomorrow’s one-on-one and delegation-level talks.