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Michelle Obama dances her way into Indian hearts |
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Tuesday, November 09, 2010 12:55:00 AM |
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NEWDEHLI: US First Lady Michelle Obama is an undisputed hit in India after winning hearts with a Bollywood boogie and displaying a common touch critics say her husband sometimes lacks.
The Times of India hailed her as a "dancing queen" after she took to the floor twice during her visit to Mumbai, shaking a leg to Bollywood hits on Saturday and joining in a local folk dance with schoolchildren on Sunday.
Photographs of the 46-year-old wearing a range of outfits from a sober grey tunic to a bright turquoise dress have been splashed in Indian newspapers, with most noting her style approvingly.
Videos of the First Lady dancing have been getting constant play on Indian news channels, with leading station NDTV describing it as "the defining image of the Obamas' maiden visit to India".
India Today magazine drew attention to her "emotional appeal" with a headline saying, "Michelle steals Barack thunder".
"Obama appeals to the head, Michelle touches the heart, despite her formidable intelligence," the magazine noted, praising her "inordinate warmth" and calling the couple "a perfect team at work".
Speaking to students at Mumbai's St. Xavier's College on Sunday, the First Lady peppered her speech with personal stories of her working-class childhood in Chicago and encouraged her audience to "keep dreaming big, gigantic dreams".
Indian author and commentator Shobhaa De described the visit as "a charm offensive".
"She succeeded spectacularly.... What came across in her interaction with average Indians was her ability to think on her feet and respond intuitively," De told AFP.
Michelle Obama spent Monday on an impromptu shopping trip at the National Handicrafts and Handloom Museum in Delhi, where she picked up half a dozen colourful bangles and chatted with a group of schoolgirls.
When they sat down for a chat, one of them, 14-year-old Manpreet Kaur, asked who apologised first when the White House couple had an argument.
"She said the president has to say he is sorry first," Kaur told reporters.
Despite the praise in India, Michelle has not always attracted such positive feedback.
An ill-judged remark during the 2008 presidential campaign when she said "for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country" - unleashed a tide of criticism, with critics lambasting her as unpatriotic.
In the years since, the First Lady has made a concerted effort to focus public attention on her charitable work, fighting child obesity, promoting nutrition and fitness.
She has also earned praise for her fashion sense, mixing designer-wear with affordable high-street labels in a bid to connect with average women.
But Michelle Obama's primary public role has been as a self-described "Mom-in-Chief" to America, as she has sought to assuage concerns among ordinary Americans over the slow economic recovery.
Unlike the president, who has been accused of being cold to the suffering of of his countrymen during the 2008-2009 recession, she has been more effective at striking a note of empathy in her speeches to American families.
As First Lady, she has stressed her role as mother to daughters Malia and Sasha and her humble upbringing rather than her high professional and academic pedigree.
It's a strategy that has seen her rule the popularity charts, with a domestic approval rating that ranks about 20 percent higher than her husband in most surveys. AGENCIES
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