The dinner was attended by political bigwigs, business leaders, actors and sports personalities.
Lilting tunes wafted across the lush green lawns of the Race Course residence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as he hosted a private dinner tonight for US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.
Mahatma Gandhi's favourite bhajan 'Vaishnav Jan to tene kahiye jay peerh paraaye janney ray' played by the Indian Navy and BSF Camels Band was heard with rapt attention by Obama, a self-confessed disciple of the Father of the Nation.
This was followed by the all-time hit from Waqt — 'O meri zohra jabeen, tujhe maloom nahin'.
Obama was seated on the head table with Prime Minister Singh, his wife Gursharan Kaur, Michelle, Sonia Gandhi, Pranab Mukherjee and Rahul Gandhi.
The dinner started with shorba and mulagatani soups and the main course included chingara jammu prongs, fish and green-chilly lamb, kakori kababs, mughlai chicken, gobi, dal dampukht, rice pulao and a variety of Indian breads.
The dessert included kesar phirni and mava poti. The catering was from ITC Maurya where the Obamas are staying.
The US first couple drove to the 7, Race Course Road residence of Singh from ITC Maurya and were warmly welcomed by Singh and his wife.
The guests at the dinner included A K Antony, P Chidambaram, S M Krishna and Sharad Pawar, senior BJP leader LK Advani and Arun Jaitley.
Also on the guest list were Anand Sharma, Prithviraj Chavan, Salman Khursheed and US Ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer, besides Sam Pitroda and Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
Top business leaders Azim Premji, Ratan Tata, Swati Piramal and N R Narayanamurthy were among the guests which also included Bollywood personalities Aamir Khan, Shabana Azmi and Javed Akthar.
Chess wizard Viswanathan Anand and Environmental Activist Sunita Narain was also present at the dinner.
Ahead of the dinner, Singh and Obama were closeted for a one-on-one meeting for about 25 minutes during which the two leaders were understood to have taken stock of bilateral ties and ways to push these to higher levels of strategic partnership.
The two leaders are believed to have taken an overview of the bilateral relations, which have grown substantially over the last few years.
As Obama reached the Prime Minister's residence, 30 camel-mounted BSF personnel welcomed him by playing bugles and trumpets.
The personnel in their traditional uniform played different tunes which were enjoyed by the US President and Michelle.
The residence was decked with flowers, lights and rangoli designs. Obama and Michelle went around different tables greeting about 60 guests. They talked and shook hands with the invitees, who included Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah.
Sonia was introduced to the Obamas by the Prime Minister while Michelle joined them a little later with Kaur.
Other guests included union ministers Kapil Sibal, former NSA Brajesh Mishra, Indian Ambassador to US Meera Shankar, Jamia Millia Vice Chancellor Najeeb Jung and DMK Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi.
People were seated on different tables named after men of letters and well-known economists like John Kenneth Galbraith, Prof Robert Mcnamara and Prof Chawla.
The event was a strictly private affair with no after-dinner speeches.
Earlier in the day, Singh set aside protocol and went to the Indira Gandhi International airport to receive the US first couple who arrived here on the second leg of the visit after a hectic 26-hour stay in Mumbai.
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