City of Nizams pulls out all the stops for Ivanka
HYDERABAD: The majestic Falaknuma Palace of the erstwhile Nizams of Hyderabad on Tuesday witnessed one of the most spectacular banquet dinners for a special guest — Ivanka Trump, daughter of US president Donald Trump, along with a host of dignitaries from India and the world.
The dinner, hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on behalf of the Government of India in honour of Ivanka, was attended by more than 1,200 delegates from 150 countries, besides the who’s who of India’s big business houses.
The dinner, which was supposed to start at 8 pm was delayed by nearly an hour and a half.
Apart from Ivanka and Modi, the tastefully decorated iconic 101-seater dining room played host to several ministers, dignitaries and other VIPs, including external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Telangana governor ESL Narasimhan, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, his son and IT minister KT Rama Rao, industrialists Mukesh Ambani, Ratan Tata, Tata Sons CEO Chandrasekharan and Adi Godrej. For the other delegates, the dinner was arranged on the sprawling lawns of the palace, now under the control of the Taj Group of Hotels.
Visitors were served mouthwatering delicacies comprising typical Telangana cuisine, besides Mughlai and continental dishes. The Palace’s team of culinary experts, led by executive chef Sajesh Nair, prepared a fivecourse menu, including local delicacies such as dahi ke kebab, gosht shikampuri kebab complimented by various courses.
Sources said Modi presented Ivanka a wooden box of Sadeli craft which is a technique native to Surat, of fabricating geometric patterns in wood. It was traditionally used for decorating doors, windows and furniture.