'Dreamgirl' Jennifer Hudson the starter at US State Dinner?

WASHINGTON: She ain’t no Lata Mangeshkar, but word is out that Grammy and Oscar-award-winning singer and actress Jennifer Hudson will perform at President Barack Obama’s first state dinner on Tuesday night for visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a select black-tie audience of 320 people.

Hudson, a 2004 American Idol Top 12 before she was eliminated , sang the American National Anthem at the Democratic National Convention in August 2008 at the request of the Obama campaign , and then again at the 2009 Super Bowl.

After winning an Academy Award for her role in ‘Dreamgirls’ , she’s recently been cast to play South African political activist Winnie Mandela in a biopic. Of course, all this is not very germane to India, but she is the Obamas’ choice; like the First Lady, she has Chicago roots.

Meanwhile, the weather for Tuesday remains bleak; its pattering rain in the morning but expected to die down by the time of the ceremonial guard of honour and be gone by the time of the banquet. Nothing like the pelting rain that disrupted President Kennedy’s state dinner for President Radhakrishanan in the 1960s.

For those who keep track of political trivia, this is the White House’s eleventh state/official dinner for an Indian dignitary, according to the Associated Press. This is how the previous jaw-jaw over chow-chow went:


President Truman (Oct 1949):

Truman’s dinner with Nehru was notable because it wasn’t at the White House. Five courses were served at Blair to a smaller-than-usual dinner party, including soup julienne ; fillet of sole with tyrolienne sauce; roast turkey with oyster dressing, , gravy and cranberry sauce.


Dwight D Eisenhower (Dec 1956):

Instead of a lavish White House dinner, Eisenhower went the lowkey route and treated Nehru to a Sunday lunch of oysters on the half shell and roast leg of lamb. They were joined by first lady Mamie Eisenhower and Nehru’s daughter, Indira Gandhi.


John F Kennedy ( Nov 1961):

At Nehru’s request, Kennedy dispensed with the pomp of the customary dinner for dozens and held a smaller, black-tie affair , apparently so the two leaders could continue their talks. Only about 14 people were at the table.

June 1963:

A state dinner two years later for Radhakrishnan was notable for featuring the first live orchestra performance ever at the White House. But Mother Nature dampened the carefully planned entertainment program when a driving rain drove guests inside to the East Room for the finale to Act 1 of Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’ , which had been scheduled for the sprawling South Lawn.

Lyndon B Johnson (Mar 1966):

Johnson held a dinner for Prime Minister Indira Gandhi the year she assumed the office her father had held for 17 years. She enjoyed a main course of sliced pheasant breast.


Richard Nixon (Nov 1971):

Five years after Johnson welcomed her, Gandhi was Nixon’s guest at the third White House dinner of the week. More than 100 guests were served a French-inspired menu of poached dumpling of pike in puff pastry, supreme of pheasant veronique and petit fours. Nixon, a graceless man, later bitched that the US had wasted time on a hag.


Ronald Reagan (Jul 1982):

For the third White House dinner of Gandhi’s tenure, Reagan served seafood neptune, lamb wrapped in golden pastry and frozen black cherry bombe, in the State Dining Room. Gandhi wore a sari in raspberry silk.

June 1985:

Gandhi was succeeded by her son, Rajiv, and he visited Reagan less than a year after his mother was killed. Reagan also treated him to a White House dinner: crab and cucumber mousse, breasts of Cornish hen and chocolate boxes with fruit sorbets and peach champagne sauce.


Bill Clinton (Sep 2000):

Clinton toasted a renewed US-India friendship at the largest dinner of his presidency honouring one person, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Nearly 700 people ate in a tent on the South Lawn, beneath crystal chandeliers at tables decorated with hydrangeas, cream China and gold candles. Their feast included a main course of wild Copper river salmon with red kuri squash and rice bean ragout.


George W Bush (Jul 2005):

PM Manmohan Singh was the honouree at one of the few gala White House dinners during Bush’s presidency. The chef paid tribute to India with chilled asparagus soup and lemon creme, pan-roasted halibut and ginger-carrot butter , and basmati rice with pistachio nuts and currants. Chocolatecardamom and cashew ice creams were served for dessert.