NewsIndiaTimes - page 6

News India Times
October 9, 2015
6
– that’s all you need to know
Special Report
BySumanGuhaMozumder
iwali came early to San
Jose. Or, so it seemed
going by the festive
mood at the city's SAP
Center, an indoor stadi-
um, where thousands of exuber-
ant Indians turned up to hear
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Sept. 27.
An estimated 19,000 people
gathered hours before Modi
arrived to a rapturous welcome
to his first engagement with
Indian-American community on
theWest Coast during his sec-
ond visit to the United States
since becoming Prime Minister
in 2014.
“This was a lifetime opportu-
nity to be present at the Prime
Minister’s event; so we all left
about four hours before the
vent,” Sushmita Majumdar, a
long time resident of Sunnyvale
in Santa Clara County, said. She
clarified, however, that she
reached the venue much earlier
than schedule because she was
to give a group dance recital
based onVande Mataram song.
But both she and others like
Subrata Majumdar, a computer
software professional, said the
majority of the people tried to
reach the venue earlier, even if
they were not performers, not
taking a chance with possible
traffic jams and delays.
An overwhelming majorly of
the attendees at the venue were
Indian-Americans who had
reached there, not just from
California but from states like
New Jersey and NewYork as
well. During Modi's first ever
visit as Prime Minister in 2014,
he addressed a mammoth com-
munity gathering at the iconic
Madison Square Garden. The
demand for tickets for Modi’s
meeting was infectious.
Organizers said earlier that
almost double the number of
people that the SAP Center can
seat, had applied from all over
the U.S. for tickets. Many were
turned away.
In a way, Modi’s community
meeting in California was simi-
lar to the one he had in New
York last year in terms of the size
of the crowd, excitement among
the audience, and most impor-
tantly, his famous punch lines
laced with humor, optimism and
sarcasm. The audience lapped
them all up like they did in
Madison Square Garden.
“A lot has changed in 25 years
since I last came. I have experi-
enced in California the vibrant
image of India. The magic of
your fingers on the keyboard has
given India a new identity. You
are forcing the world to change,”
Modi thunderous applause, a
frequent occurrence during his
address. His more than hour-
long address, took listeners from
the history of India’s governance,
or lack of it in the past several
decades, to the new hope he is
said to have generated among
the poor through his various
social welfare schemes by way of
bank amounts for the poor, and
Aadhar Card, a unique 12-dit ID
for all people of India to help
check corruption.
Asking the crowd for a certifi-
cate of his 16 months in power,
Modi received a rapturous
endorsement. “Did I live up to
my promises, working day and
night, and the responsibility that
I have undertaken...Have I lived
up to that?”
The crowd responded with
“Modi, Modi,” a loud approval
that the Prime Minister was on
the right track.
Continued on page 10
D
How TheWest Was Won
Modi Regales Indians In Silicon Valley
Above, Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
addresses the crowd during a
community reception at SAP Center in
San Jose, California Sept. 27. Left,
crowds eager to be near Prime Minister
Modi after he finished speaking at the
SAP Center. Bottom, hundreds of
protesters outside SAP Center carrying
placards critical of Modi.
Reuters
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