(Top) Barack Obama with Gursharan Kaur, Manmohan Singh’s wife, at the state banquet on Tuesday; Singh with Michelle Obama and Amartya Sen at the banquet. (PTI)

Washington, Nov. 25: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set the bar so high in the White House last night that it will be a hard act for his successors to follow.

On a wet, cloudy and cold evening, he and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, set the Potomac on fire as 400 guests of the US President and the First Lady — from film director Steven Spielberg and author Jhumpa Lahiri to industrialist Ratan Tata and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen — lined up outside the Blue Room of the presidential mansion to greet them and to break bread with them later on the South Lawn of the White House.

On Tuesday prime time, every American channel from those reporting news, such as CNN, to others dishing out rap, rhythm and blues, such as Black Entertainment Television, had Singh and Kaur on their screens repeatedly as the memorable state dinner for them was aired in every minute detail for three hours.

Long after the Prime Minister and his wife have departed Washington tomorrow for Port of Spain, Michelle Obama’s strapless, silver-embroidered gown designed by Indian-American Naeem Khan and her Indian-style gold-and-diamond bangles will be discussed here by those who can afford them and others who can only wish for them.

Not since Obama won a historic victory in the presidential elections last November has anything in Washington been so talked about as the first couple’s first state dinner in the White House.

Last evening, as this correspondent was heading for the White House, a homeless man begging for change outside the Indian delegation’s Willard Intercontinental Hotel asked every passing Indian whom he mistook for a member of Singh’s entourage what Obama and his wife would be eating tonight.

If Obama kow-towed to the Chinese on South Asia only a few days ago and has been giving arms and money to the Pakistanis that is inevitably used against India, it was all forgotten briefly last night by the men and women who run India, especially the country’s foreign and security policies.

Obama may have failed to gift his honoured guest a fully operationalised nuclear deal or full permission for high technology exports to India during Singh’s visit, but he reminded Indians in a toast last night that “I was honoured to become the first President to help celebrate Diwali” inside the White House.

“Some of you were here for the first White House celebration of the birth of the founder of Sikhism — Guru Nanak. Tonight, we gather again, for the first state dinner of my presidency with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mrs Gursharan Kaur, as we celebrate the great and growing partnership between the United States and India.”

Obama was at his best in weaving verse through his famed oratory when he said: “As we all know, in India some of life’s most treasured moments are often celebrated under the cover of a beautiful tent. It is a little like tonight. For it has been said that ‘the most beautiful things in the universe are the starry heavens above us and the feeling of duty within us’.”

The US President reminded his guests that he and the Prime Minister had gathered under the tent not just for fun. “Mr Prime Minister, today we worked to fulfil our duty -- bring our countries closer together than ever before. Tonight, under the stars, we celebrate the spirit that will sustain our partnership -- the bonds of friendship between our people.”

It was clear during the toast that the Obama administration’s decision in the run-up to Singh’s visit to bring together a group of Indian and American pre-teen boys and girls during the Children’s Day week was not an idle one.

Obama last night fully rehabilitated Jawaharlal Nehru, reviled here for his non-alignment, which Americans used to describe as immoral during Nehru’s lifetime. He concluded his toast with a quote from Nehru.

“I want to close with the words that your first Prime Minister spoke at that midnight hour on the eve of Indian independence, because Nehru’s words speak to our hopes tonight: ‘The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the great triumphs and achievements that await us.… The past is over and it is the future that beckons us now.’ So I propose a toast to all of you.”

The only faux pas was that the Prime Minister did not have a glass to toast. One guest at the dinner said the absence of the glass was symptomatic, like the nuclear deal, which has been legislated, but not yet operationalised.

“Does the Prime Minister get a glass?” Obama demanded. “Thank you,” he said as a waiter quickly brought one. “Just logistically, we want to make sure the Prime Minister has a glass here,” Obama explained as the guests tried to make light of the faux pas.

“To the future that beckons all of us,” Obama lifted his glass and toasted. “Let us answer its call. And let our two great nations realise all the triumphs and achievements that await us.”

The Prime Minister did not fall behind even by an inch in his effusion. “Mr President, your journey to the White House has captured the imagination of millions and millions of people in India. You are an inspiration to all those who cherish the values of democracy, diversity, and equal opportunity,” he declared.

If Obama quoted Nehru, the Prime Minister quoted Lincoln. “Mr President, I can do no better than to describe your achievements in the words of Abraham Lincoln who said -- and I quote – ‘In the end, it is not the years in your life that count. It is the life in your years’.” He also toasted to Obama’s recent Nobel.

The Prime Minister said “a strong and sustained engagement between our two countries is good for our people and, equally, it is highly important for the world as a whole. We are embarking on a new phase of our partnership. We should build on our common values and interests to realise the enormous potential and promise of our partnership... as you lead this great nation, I look forward to working with you to renew and expand our strategic partnership.”