Prime Minister Narendra Modi shook visiting Prince William’s hand so hard at an official reception in New Delhi yesterday that he left white finger marks.
When the heir to the British throne placed his right hand on the hip of his wife Kate’s turquoise gauze dress a few moments later, however, the marks had disappeared.
Modi likes to present himself as the assertive leader, and attempts to prove this physically: each year he completes two nine-day periods of fasting when he only takes fluids; his gait is reminiscent of a wrestler’s swagger; and during the last election campaign, Modi claimed to have a 142cm chest, like a bodybuilder such as Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Modi received his guests in the impressive surroundings of Hyderabad House in New Delhi.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge then sat down to a musical lunch with the prime minister, as they continued a first tour of India that has featured a cricket game with slum kids and a glittering Bollywood gala.
Sources said the four-course lunch featured Indian “veg” and “non-veg” cuisine but, citing protocol, declined to specify the dishes served. Renowned classical musician Rahul Sharma played the santoor rounding off his performance with the Beatles classic “Let It Be”.
The couple have spent much of their three days in India meeting children and charities that work with them. Yesterday, they visited a shelter of the Salaam Baalak Trust that provides support and shelter for street kids in Delhi and Mumbai.
But there’s been glamour too, with A-list Bollywood film stars led by Shah Rukh Khan and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai turning out on Sunday night for a charity gala in Mumbai.
William and Kate wielded a sword at the British High Commissioner’s residence on Monday night to cut a cake to mark the forthcoming 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth.
After paying tribute to his grandmother as “an energetic and dedicated guiding force for her family”, William read a message to the Indian people from the Queen.
Striking a lighter note, he concluded: “Now I can report back to Granny that I have done my duty!”
The week long tour will take the royal couple to see the famed one-horned rhinos in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park, on to the isolated kingdom of Bhutan before returning to India on Saturday to visit the Taj Mahal.