Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be on a week-long state visit to India from 17-23 February. Trudeau’s debut in India comes three years after Modi’s Canada visit in April 2015.
While the visit is a trade mission, the iconoclast political leader is known for more than diplomacy or politicking – no, Trudeau’s enthusiasm for celebrating diversity is what has often landed him in headlines.
And especially relevant is Trudeau’s embrace of all things Indian.
From shaking a leg with Indians on Independence Day to donning ethnic attire on festivals to participating in traditional pujas, he’s won over many Indian hearts.
A Prime-Ministerial Bhangra
In an old clip, Trudeau can be seen swinging to a hit bhangra song that had India falling head over heels over him.
The video features Trudeau dressed in white kurta-pyjama and stole, grooving to the beats of ‘Dil Bole Hadippa’, a breakout Punjabi song at an Indian Independence Day event organised by the Indo-Canada Association of Montreal in 2012. He matches every move that's thrown at him!
And that’s hardly all! Trudeau got a blazing response online after an old performance in 2014 filmed at Regina’s Mosaic A Festival of Cultures showed him nailing the ‘naagin’ dance step in this video (the fun-loving PM enters at around 2:00).
That Time He Wore a Veshti for Pongal
The internet went into a meltdown after the young Canadian PM delighted Tamils by putting on a veshti and celebrating the Tamil harvest festival of Pongal with the Tamil community in Canada on 17 January.
‘Diwali Mubarak’ and a Little Oops
“Diwali Mubarak! We’re celebrating in Ottawa tonight,” Trudeau greeted his 3.71 million followers, with a picture of himself in a black sherwani, lighting a lamp. However, Trudeau came under fire by some Indians for using the word ‘Mubarak’, which has Arabic origins... whoops.
Trudeau at Independence Day
The youngest Canadian PM took to the streets of Montreal to celebrate 70 years of Indian independence Day on 21 August in 2017, along with the mushrooming Indian diaspora in the region. Clad in a purple silk kurta, he ended the celebrations with an emphatic ‘Jai hind’ and shared pictures of his jovial self with the crowd holding tiny Indian flags.
And way back in 2013, in customary Indian attire, Trudeau had graced Indian Independence Day celebrations with similar fervour.
Desi Trudeau Performs Puja
Wearing a traditional kurta-pyjama in blue and silver along with a garland of flowers, Trudeau followed the rituals solemnly on the 10th anniversary of the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Toronto last year.
He took to Twitter to express that he was in awe of the temple’s architecture and called it a “masterpiece”. He also said it was “truly a place for community”.
In a statement, Trudeau reportedly said:
I am honoured to recognise his Holiness’ global and Toronto-based humanitarian, charitable, and community-building efforts through BAPS Charities Canada. His Holiness’ great contributions have enriched Toronto.
Like Father, Like Son: Trudeau’s ‘Mayurasan’
The 46-year-old leader hasn’t just slayed the Bhangra, and done the ‘naagin’, he’s also delighted Indians by retweeting a photo of himself showing off his “peacock pose” or “mayurasana.”
A 2013 photo of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau doing a yoga pose on a desk of Parliament’s Opposition Caucus room resurfaced online two years later. On 24 March 2016, Toronto-area yoga instructor David Gellineau shared the photo on Facebook garnering more than 4,500 shares, Time reported.
However, there is an interesting twist to the story behind the picture. In a 2013 CBC interview, he shared a 1970 photo of his father Pierre Trudeau doing the same pose.
Not on the floor, but I do it on railings and on the edge of tables and stuff. I used to do it an awful lot when I was younger. Now that I’ve hit 40, I’m not quite as able to do it as I used to be.Canadian PM Justin Trudeau to CBC
The youngest Canadian PM has also shown his affinity for yoga in the past. Immaculately dressed in his formal attire, Trudeau was photographed doing the vrikshasana on the front lawn of Parliament Hill in Ottawa after a news conference in June 2013, the Time report said.
‘More Sikhs in My Cabinet Than Modi!’
Trudeau is clearly aware of the power he has given Sikhs in his Cabinet. Speaking to an American audience in Washington, he joked, “I have more Sikhs in my Cabinet than Modi!”
(With PTI inputs)
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