MODI'S SWEARING-IN CEREMONY - ATITHI DEVO BHAVA!

By Ruma Dubey

All eyes are trained on Rashtrapati Bhavan and most of us mere mortals on our TV screens. Today’s 6 PM show promises to be a blockbuster, with the super hero, Narendra Modi leading the others.

Bookies are having a gala time, making merry and more money on speculating – who will get what? Maximum money is riding on Arun Jaitley, for Finance Minister. It’s a given that the ministry will be smaller, leaner and hopefully meaner.

Modi’s first move – of bowing as he entered the Parliament, the temple of democracy and then his emotional tears truly warmed the hearts of even some of his skeptics. And then the very right move – of extending invitation of Pakistan and all neighbouring countries to come attend the swearing in function was perfect. By extending the invitation of Pakistan, he sent the right signals and marks a good beginning in building diplomatic relationships.  Apart from Nawaz Sharief, others have also arrived for the function - SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Mauritius PM Navin Ramgoolam, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Abdulla Yameen who is Maldives President, Bhutan PM Tshering Tobgay, Nepal PM Sushil Koirala and Bangladesh Parliament Speaker, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury.

And Indian ministers attending the ceremony includes all the bigwigs - Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Jeetan Ram Manjhi (Bihar CM), Anandiben Patel (Gujarat CM), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (MP CM), Raman Singh (Chhattisgarh CM), Vasundhara Raje (Rajasthan CM), Hemant Soren (Jharkhand CM), Pradip Amat (Odisha FM), Amit Mitra (West Bengal FM), Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, N Chandrababu Naidu, HD Deve Gowda, K Chandrasekhar Rao. All 21 Gujarat ministers will  also attend the ceremony.

The not-to-attend list includes the usual suspects – Jayalalithaa, Mamata Banerjee, K Siddaramaiah (Karnataka CM), Oommen Chandy (Kerala CM) and Naveen Patnaik (Odisha CM).

The others glitterati from the society who will be attending the ceremony are: Anil Ambani, Sunil Mittal, Prashant Ruia, Gautam Adani, Pawan Munjal, AM Naik ,  Sri Sri Ravishankar, Lata Mangeshkar, Hari Bhartia, Ajay Shriram , Rajan Mittal, admen Piyush Pandey and Prasoon Joshi.  Rajnikanth and Amitabh Bachchan will not be attending the ceremony, Rekha and Sachin Tendulkar are also expected to attend, so will Ratan Tata and former President’s Pratibha Patil and APJ Abdul Kalam. Lyricist Javed Akhtar will attend the ceremony and also Vadodara's erstwhile royal family Shubhanginidevi Raje-Gaekwad, tea vendor Kiran Mahida, former Gujarat minister Makrand Desai's widow Neelaben Desai.

And most important part of the function – food. What will all the guests be served for dinner?

Snacks will include dhokla, rasgulla, rajbhog, kachauri, imarti, mattar ki khasta potli, patties, sandwiches, cookies, khandvi, cutlets, vegetarian hariali kababs, cold drinks, tea, coffee and a variety of mouth- watering non- vegetarian snacks. And dinner –  Chilled Melon Soup, Chicken Hazarvi, Tandoori Aloo, Galauti Kabab, Arbi Ke Kabab, Prawn Stew, Vegetable Stew, Chicken Chettinad,  Gujarati Kadhi, Jaipuri Bhindi, Birbali Kofta Curry, Kela Methi Nu Shaak, Dal Makhani, Potol Dolma, Steamed Rice, Assorted Indian Breads (rotis and naans), Cucumber Raita/Papad. Dessert will include Shrikhand, Pineapple Halwa, Sandesh and South Indian Coffee/Green Tea.

To keep the public entertained during the waiting period, bands of Navy, Army and Air Force will perform patriotic songs. That will be followed by a commentary from 4:45 pm onwards about the arrival of VVIPs.

So get ready for this royal treat, with your own food and snacks at home to be a witness to this memorable day in Indian history.