Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended a traditional dinner hosted by Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar during his visit to the Caribbean nation.
PM Modi arrived in Port of Spain on Thursday on a two-day day visit to Trinidad & Tobago.
Highlighting the gesture in a post on X, PM Modi said, “At the dinner hosted by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, I presented a replica of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and holy water from the Saryu river as well as from the Mahakumbh held in Prayagraj. They symbolise the deep cultural and spiritual bonds between India and Trinidad & Tobago.”
As a special cultural gesture, the dinner featured food served on Sohari leaves, a practice rooted in the traditions of the Indian-origin community in the Caribbean nation.
“The dinner hosted by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar had food served on a Sohari leaf, which is of great cultural significance to the people of Trinidad & Tobago, especially those with Indian roots. Here, food is often served on this leaf during festivals and other special programmes,” PM Modi noted in another post.
At the dinner, PM Modi also met Rana Mohip, who had performed the devotional song Vaishnava Jana To during the global celebration of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary in 2019. “His passion for Indian music and culture is appreciable,” PM Modi wrote.
Earlier, PM Modi was greeted in Port of Spain with a lively Bhojpuri Chautaal performance, an art form deeply rooted in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, from where many of Trinidad’s Indian-origin citizens trace their ancestry.
“A cultural connect like no other! Very happy to have witnessed a Bhojpuri Chautaal performance in Port of Spain. The connect between Trinidad & Tobago and India, especially parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar is noteworthy,” PM Modi shared.
