Jennifer Hudson to perform at White House banquet for Singh
Singer Jennifer Hudson is headlining an entertainment lineup, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity
Washington: In the history of US-India relations, there's been plenty of broken bread
and even a few crumbled Triscuit crackers.
American presidents have entertained India's leaders over fine wine and even finer food for the past 60 years - at grand White House dinners with hundreds of guests in black-tie, at an intimate Sunday lunch and away from Washington's prying eyes near a storied Civil War battlefield.
At his first White House state dinner on Tuesday, President Barack Obama will put his stamp on the tradition the White House uses to honour foreign leaders.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is coming for a state visit and all that it entails - a pomp-filled welcome ceremony on the South Lawn, private time with Obama, a joint news conference and, in the evening, the state dinner, to be held outside for 320 people.
First lady Michelle Obama's staff, which has planned what could be Washington's hottest social event since the inauguration, has kept a tight lid on the details. But some elements, like the huge white tent going up on the South Lawn, couldn't remain secret for long. That alone means hundreds more people will be attending than if dinner had been scheduled indoors in the State Dining Room, which seats a maximum 140 guests.
Singer Jennifer Hudson, who has won a Grammy and an Oscar, is headlining an entertainment lineup that also includes Indian performers, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity on Tuesday because details weren't being announced until later.
Mrs. Obama also is bringing in a guest chef, award-winning Marcus Samuelsson of Aquavit, a Scandinavian restaurant in New York City, to help the White House kitchen staff prepare the meal. Samuelsson was selected by social secretary Desiree Rogers and assistant chef Sam Kass.
The basic White House dinner has been tweaked over the years to suit guests, invited and uninvited. A driving rain drove President John F. Kennedy's guests to the East Room, scuttling months of planning for Mozart on the South Lawn for Indian President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
With nearly 700 guests in a tent on the lawn, the India state dinner was one of the largest such events of Bill Clinton's presidency. George W. Bush's dinner in 2005 was notable because he held so few overall.
