12 centrespread centrespread 13 MARCH 01-07, 2020 MARCH 01-07, 2020

MUMBAI HIGH Michelle Obama On her first visit in 2010, Michelle Obama, wife of the then US president Barack Obama, played hopscotch with children in Mumbai and danced to a Bollywood song. On her second visit in 2015, she relished a Bukhara meal at the famous restaurant at FirstThe first lady of the United States, Mate Delhi’s ITC Maurya where she hosted a private dinner. Before her, Hillary Clinton had enjoyed a Bukhara thali. Their spouses, Bill FLYING SOLO Melania Trump, was in the spotlight during and Barack, both have meals named after them on Bukhara’s US President Donald Trump’s visit to India. menu, called the Clinton Platter and the Obama Platter. Jacqueline If the brocade sash that she wore as a cummerbund on her white jumpsuit was the Kennedy highlight of day one, she made headlines on HITTING A HIGH NOTE In 1962, Jacqueline the second day for attending a “Happiness Kennedy, the then first Class” at a Delhi government school. Here’s lady of the US, spent Peng Liyuan several days in India as a look at first spouses whose India visit has She accompanied Chinese President Xi Jinping on his visit to India in part of a goodwill trip been memorable: A GENTLEMAN’S PAGDI 2014. Liyuan, a popular singer, hit the right notes as she sang along initiated by the then US :: Shephali Bhatt with schoolchildren, appreciated their dance and martial arts ambassador, John Kenneth Denis Thatcher moves. She also wrote on a canvas a Confucius' saying that one Galbraith. She visited the needs to review the past before one decides to take on the future. Taj Mahal, rode an He was the first first gentleman of elephant and took a boat the United Kingdom. He accompa- ride on the Ganga, making nied his wife and former British PM for great photo ops. Jackie, on one of her ROCK STAR SHOW who was flying without trips to India. “In India, to please her husband John F some villagers, he agreed to wear Kennedy, was on a girls’ a large pink turban, and muttered Akie Abe trip with her sister Lee to bystanders: 'These blighters She is known as the “rock star” first lady. She takes part in Radziwill. are trying to make me look like a gaygay pridepride parades, poses amamidstidst cannabcannabisis plants and has bloody fool,'” wrote journalist worked inin advertisingadvertising before marryingmarrying Japan’s longest Andrew Vine in an obituary of servingserving prprimeime mministerinister ShShinzoinzo Abe. AkAkieie vvisitedisited IndIndiaia for Denis in The Yorkshire Post the firstfirst ttimeime iinn 2007, durduringing ShShinzo’sinzo’s ffirstirst term as prprimeime in 2003. The turban anecdote minister.minister. She travelled iinn DelhDelhii Metro and talked about resurfaces every time someone her keen interestinterest iinn IndIndianian astrology, yoga and medita-medita- talks about the Iron Lady and tion.tion. AkieAkie interactedinteracted wwithith varvariousious IndIndianian cultural organi-organi- her claims of her husband having sationssations duringduring her subsequent vvisitisit iinn 2017 as wellwell.. her back during her tenure. CARTER VILLAGE Rosalynn Carter PRINCESS DIARIES On her two-day trip with the then US president Jimmy Carter in 1978, Rosalynn Carter visited Chuma Kim Jung-sook Kheragaon, a village in Haryana, and South Korea’s first lady made a solo trip to India in 2018 at the invitation gifted the people their first television of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to promote cultural exchange between set, among other small items she had the two nations. Kim made a trip to Ayodhya during her four-day visit to brought from the US. There is an commemorate the memory of the legendary Korean queen Huh Hwang- apocryphal story that her mother had ok who is believed to have been born as Princess Suriratna in Ayodhya worked in the village. However, officials 2,000 years ago and travelled to Korea to marry King Suro. accompanying the couple said president Carter wanted to visit an Indian village and Chuma happened to be the closest to Delhi. Nevertheless, overwhelmed by the gesture, the town renamed itself as Carterpuri.

Source: Ministry of External Affairs, edition.cnn.com, nytimes.com, Times of India, india today.in, Economic Times archives PHOTOS: GETTYIMAGES