"Howdy Modi!" billboards go up in Houston welcoming Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Houston: Huge digital billboards on major highways across Houston welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian flags fluttering outside the homes of Indian-Americans are signs that they are eagerly awaiting his arrival here on September 22 for the mega diaspora event.

A record audience of over 50,000 people have already registered for the "Howdy, Modi!" event to be held at the sprawling NRG Stadium, the host Texas India Forum (TIF), a Houston-based non-profit body, said.

Howdy", short for 'How do you do?', is a friendly greeting commonly used in southwestern United States.

Apart from the huge bill boards on major highways, numerous yard signs have appeared in the city. Indian flags have also been put outside homes of Indian-Americans across the city as they are counting days for the historic event in the world's largest energy capital.

All are geared up and ready to make this event a memorable for their future generations, community member said at the SEWA International Gala. They said "Howdy, Modi!" event provided them an opportunity to showcase the unity of the diverse Indian-American community and to celebrate their accomplishments in the US.

Programme

The attendees at the event will see a cultural programme at the start of the event, called "Woven: The Indian-American Story", a 90-minute show that is a celebration of Indian-Americans and their contributions to the cultural, intellectual, and social landscape of the US, according to TIF.

The event, titled "Shared Dreams, Bright Future", will focus on the success of Indian-Americans and their contributions to the United States, as well as the strength of the US-India relationship. Their voices will be heard loud and clear, TIF said.

At the SEWA International's fundraising gala on Sunday, which was attended by over 800 guests, Jugal Malani, chairperson of the event, told PTI that event would be a grand success, thanks to the tremendous dedication of the volunteers and the financial contribution of the sponsors."

"We really look forward to presenting this unique and interesting cultural show at the event, which will tell the story of our community in a way that's never really been done before.

We want all the attendees and those watching from home to connect with a programme that shows the Indian-American community and understand what drives our community to be part of the larger American experience,” said Gitesh Desai, spokesperson for the event.

The Houston event will be Modi's third major address to the Indian-American community after he became the prime minister in 2014 and the first after his re-election in May.

The previous two were at the Madison Square Garden in New York in 2014 and the Silicon Valley in 2016. Both the events were attended by more than 20,000 people.