PM Modi’s US State Dinner: Sundar Pichai, Anand Mahindra, Indra Nooyi, Nikhil Kamath among guests; US President Joe Biden cracks joke about alcohol-free menu

Around 400 guests attended the state dinner hosted by US President Joe Biden for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the White House.

Indian tycoons Mukesh Ambani and Anand Mahindra, Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, top Indian-origin entrepreneurs, and business leaders such as Alphabet.Inc CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO and Chairman Satya Nadella, and former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi were on the illustrious guest list. Apple boss Tim Cook was also among the attendees.

Mahindra took to Twitter and thanked the Bidens for the invitation. Retweeting a video of the US First Lady Jill Biden giving out delicious details of the State Dinner, the tycoon wrote, “Landed in D.C and honoured to be an invitee to the State Dinner tonight. After hearing this preview of the preparations for dinner made by @FLOTUS I’ve decided to skip lunch, work up my appetite, and do justice to all her efforts!”


Indian-origin US representatives US politicians Ro Khanna and Raja Krishnamoorthi, and fashion designer Ralph Lauren also attended the event.

Prominent executives from the world of entertainment such as filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, Netflix Inc. Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria, and media scion James Murdoch were also present.

Some light-hearted moments transpired at the dinner. As both the President and the Prime Minister are teetotalers, the menu was kept alcohol-free. Biden cracked a joke about how to toast when there are no alcoholic drinks on the menu.

Citing the words of his late grandfather Ambrose Finnegan, Biden said, “ “If you give a toast and you don't have any alcohol in the glass, you must do it with your left hand. You all think I’m kidding. I’m not.”

The PM also thanked the Bidens for hosting the dinner in his honour. “I want to thank US President Joe Biden for this wonderful dinner today. I would also like to thank First Lady Jill Biden for taking care of my visit to make it successful. Yesterday evening you opened the doors of your house for me,” he said.

The three-course menu consisted of a delicious salad consisting of grilled corn kernels and spicy millets, a savoury avocado sauce, compressed watermelon dish, stuffed Portobello mushrooms, a creamy Saffron risotto, etc. Dessert included a rose and cardamom-flavoured strawberry shortcake. There was also the option of a sumac roasted sea bass for non-vegetarians.