Hyderabad: The royal dinner India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted in honour of Ivanka Trump and 1,500 other delegates of Global Entrepreneurship Summit at the magnificent Falaknuma Palace here not only gave a taste of the traditional Hyderabadi hospitality and its rich cuisine but also left a trail of controversy behind.
Both Modi and Ivanka Trump almost an hour late to the palace by road in heavily guarded security cavalcade and the US President Donald Trump’s adviser and daughter was taken around the Nizams-era palace and shown its breathtakingly beautiful features and architectural splendour.
After a glittering cultural programme on the stairs of the palace that included Kathak dance and a fusion performance featuring various regional dance forms, Ivanka was taken to the world’s largest dining table, the unique highlight of Falaknuma Palace.
While the host, Modi, was at the head of the table on one side with Ivanka sitting on his right and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on the left, the state Governor ESL Narasimhan was at the head of the table on the other end.
Modi’s cabinet colleagues Sushma Swaraj and Nirmala Sitaraman, Telangana’s Minister for Information Technology K Tarakarama Rao, prominent industrialists and businessmen Adi Godrej, Sunil Mittal and Tata Sons chairman Chandrasekharan were among the guests who were seated on the high table while other delegates had their dinner on the sprawling green lawns with the palace providing the backdrop.
Sources present at the dinner said Ivanka was bowled over by the opulence and ambience of Falaknuma Palace and the royal treatment given to her by the hosts, including the showering of flower petals as she arrived at the palace in a horse-driven cart.
Exotic dishes
The fabulous spread of dishes from Nizami kitchen included non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes. The multi-course dinner started with a specially prepared soup ‘Makai Badam ka Shorba’ and ‘Shikampur Kabab with Sheermaal’; the main course included ‘Murgh Shikanja’, ‘Sunheri Jhinga’, ‘Murgh Pista curry’, ‘Samak shehzadi’, ‘Haleem’, ‘Biryani Ameer Khwani’ and ‘Qubani ka meetha’ for dessert.
Even the vegetarian dishes such as ‘Chatpate Aaloo’, ‘Anardaana Do Pyaza’ and ‘Dal-e-Ada’ had a Deccani touch.
Sources said that Ivanka was all praise for the delicious and rich fare, she preferred other dishes over the famed Hyderabadi Biryani.
Chief Minister KCR presented her carefully chosen gifts including a memento of Charminar in filigree works crafted by the artisans of Karimnagar district and a special saree. Prime Minister Modi presented her a wooden box of Sadeli Craft made by the craftsmen of Surat.
KCR also presented a replica of Kakatiya arch to the prime minister and a wooden veena (stringed musical instrument) to Sushma Swaraj.
Security in a tizzy
While everything inside the hall went smoothly, there was a storm brewing outside. The Special Protection Group, responsible for the security of the prime minister and the officials of PMO, were in for a shock when they heard that the dinner was being telecast live by a local TV channel in violation of the security and protocol norms.
Following an alert from the SPG director A K Sinha, additional principal secretary to the Prime Minister P K Misra contacted the Telangana director general of police M Mahendar Reddy and expressed his strong displeasure over the breach of security.
Hyderabad Police Commissioner V Srinivas Rao, who was present at the dinner, immediately directed his officials to end the live transmission. He also ordered an inquiry into the source of the live feed.
There were speculations that the channel had got the live feed from the Police Control Room to which the surveillance cameras installed in the hotel were linked.
The commissioner confirmed receiving a call from the SPG officials objecting to the live transmission but said he did not know from where the feed was taken. He pointed out that many guests were also making videos inside the hotel.
While the guests were feasting, the police also received a threatening call that a bomb was planted in the Falaknuma Palace creating a scare. However, the police and security teams combed the hotel and did not find anything. Officials said that the call was a hoax. Search was under way for the mysterious caller.
