On the road with Namo

Trying to keep up wi th a man who barely sleeps is exhilarating as well as exhausting

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' I , BY l PAWAN LUTHRA -·

Never did I imagine that I would be in three c ities in two days tracking the Indian Prime Minister.

I was there as he entered through the metal doors at a private reception fo r the Indian community, prior to his historic address to over 16,000 delirious fans at the rlliphones Arena in Sydney. I also bel.i eve that I was the onl y person who captured h is final wave as he wallced away through the glas.s door at the side after the state dinner hosted b y PM Tony Abbott ar the MCG.

M y humble camera captures bodi these moments, albe.it badly. Between these two moments, 1 followed d1e fre n zied build -up to his visit co Australia as hordes of Indian media descended on Sydney, for an event expected to. surpass the Indian PM's American address at the Madi son Square Gardens. The morning of 17 November dawned bright and clear, and I am sure the organisers could have filled out the 50,000 p lus seats at the Sydney Cricket Ground with people wanting a glimpse of this man known for his winning oratory.

After finishing late at night at the Ailphones Arena in SycL1ey, 1 took a n early morning Right to Canberra co w itnes~ Prime Minister Modi receive the guard of honour from the Australian Federation Guard made up of members of the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Arm y and Royal Australian Air Force. The canons boomed in die front court of the Parliament H o use as Australia's finest honoured the Indian Prime Minister, v,;-lule hordes of Australian Indians cheered on from the sid es

The public gallery at the Australian Pacliame n t Chamber was overflowing w ith invited guests who sat quietl y waiting for the official p roceedings to begin at 10 05 am.

As P1,[ Modi entered, escorted by the Sergeant at Arms, d1e gallery could not restrain their applause.

Mr Modi spoke eloquently in his third language of English (after Gujarati and Hindi). While his address had ligh t- hearred moments, which had die Parliamentarians laughing politely, he also hardened his tone as he made clear that all countries, including China, have to Jive peacefully in the East As ia region. Ir bodes well for the Australia-India relationship that he got mobbed by the Australian MPs on his way out.

Later, as T crisscrossed m y way to Me lbourne via Sydney (as all flights to l'v[elboume &om Canberra had been booked out) , I could see Air India One (also referred to as Al- 1 or AIC001 ) on the tarmac at Canberra airport Thought abom asking for a lift (hey, fellow Indian to fellow I ndian, why not?), but decided against it as I saw the heavy Special Protective Group (SPG) out in full force.

M y d1ird c i ty in a day got me to Melbourne for a business leaders' meet and then a community meetand-greet at Government House The Grand Hall was overflowing again, and it seemed the Modi Express had travelled in reverse, bringing Sydneysiders south to Melbourne.

While PM Modi was being feted by the corporate gurus in a private session, other stalwarts such as those &om the field of sports got a chance to do so at d1e less fo r mal community meet. The chants of " Modi! Modi!" were heard yet again from the crowds, even though d1is tinie rmmd, Modi appeared more subdued.

\'v'as it a deliberate attempt to show less bravado an d more restraint, to fit the occas ion? Or was it a to uch of exhaustion, given the hectic schedules of the past few days?

Perhaps in Sydney the ability to talk in H.indi gave him a natural flow, and the sheer occas ion of Canbe r ra brought o u t the orator in him But the tank seemed a bit empty in Melbourne.

Yet at the hallowed grounds of the MCG, PM Modi cook some time to "examine" the pitch. I almost expected him to take d1e ke ys out of his pocket to rest the softness and dampness on the pitch to g ive the Indian cricket team a heads - up as what to expect when they p lay there on Boxing Day But in the spirit of fair play, or perhaps in fear of being shirtfronred b y Tony Abbott on this unsporting gesture, he resolved instead to simply enjoy the n1C>ment.

At the reception that followed, one could hear the quiver in the voice of Prime 1'Iini ster Abbott. Wonder if the Indian TV stations played Dire Stea.its' 'Brothers in Arms' as Tony Abbott and arendra Modi gave each other a hug Modi's demeanour also cracked as he felt the genuine affection in the room.

The Private Members Dining area was anytb.ing but private as die State Banquet hosted by PM Tony Abbott brought out the corporate e lite, the Indian Australian community, academics and business leaders The evening went imo wind-down mode wi th entertainment from The String Divas and Circus Oz.

To bon our tlie Indian Prime Minister the trio from The String Diva belted out the tmofficial national anthem of India, '.Jai Ho' And while be no doubt enjoyed this number, it was the ABBA song 'i\famma M ia' wh ich had his host Tony Abbott d o a jig 011 his seat. One almos t expected him to ask Modi to join .in a b it of a dance, but tmfortuuacely there were no garba sticks availab le to create this ABBA - Falguni Pathak fusion.

Mr Modi had a quizzical look on his face as the medley of ABBA songs continued (yes, my camera did capture that) and he was thankful for tlie diversion by Estelle Parker from DFAT who got his attention. She had bee n in charge of raking care of Mr Modi when he vis ited in 2001 and wanted to say hello Much to her delight, he r emembered her and warmly rook both her hands in his as he introduced her to Mr Abbott.

Even as Mr Modi expressed his gracimde to a friend from 13 years ago, Australia's r ichest person and the world's sixth richest woman, Gina Reinhardt stood patiently b y co talk ro the two Prime :Mi n iste rs.

While politics and business minds interacted , tlie two 'Can Do' Prime Ministers (perhaps Commonwealth Bank needs to trade mark ilieir slogan) aho posed for photos w:ith not only Gina Reinhardt but yours truly as well. Noc far from chem sat cricket legends from both sides such as Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, VVS Laxman, Steve Waugh, G lenn McGrath, Michael Kasprowi cb, and business figures such as Ashok Jacob, Maw:ice Newman, V is hal Sikka and Manoj Nagpaul. And seemingly the full front bench of the Abbott go\Tetomenr.

And then it was time co go. Show ing amazing dexter ity for a 64-year-old man, and with a puffing PM Abbott struggling to keep up (note photo) , Modi, with a wave of his hand, was gone. And so it was veni, vidi, vici - Modi came, saw, conquered - tlie hearts and minds of people down under