The festive season is upon us and many Indians are doused in the spirit of celebration. And it seems the infectious energy has enthused even non-Desi folk living in the country. Take the case of US Embassy diplomats, for example, who recently shared a video of themselves singing popular Bollywood songs on Twitter.
"Watch our diplostars flaunt their love for songs from Hindi movies. Which is your favorite Bollywood number? #USIndiaDosti", the post was captioned.
Watch our diplostars flaunt their love for songs from Hindi movies. Which is your favorite Bollywood number? #USIndiaDosti pic.twitter.com/scTi8VS1jR— U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) September 29, 2019
The video, titled "Americans sing their favorite Bollywood songs" features officials starting the video with a rendition of "Yeh dosti" from Sholay. Other songs that were sung by Americans include 'Badtameez Dil' from Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani and 'Choti Si Asha' from Roja.
The video has been garnering much praise from desi netizens, many of who lauded the effort as well as choice of songs.
Too fun :)Brilliant! 😎— Amrita Bhinder (@amritabhinder) September 29, 2019
pic.twitter.com/NzQ5fSCqQF— Pavan Daivajna (@pavan2uall) September 29, 2019
Now make your Indian counterparts sing English rock songs. You guys rocked.— Basant Bhoruka 🇮🇳 (@basant_bhoruka) September 30, 2019
This is fantastic way of connecting with people of India. @realDonaldTrump @narendramodi— Alok Shrivastava (@iamalokshri) September 30, 2019
Well-done good job shows your love for music and culture.— Dr Nitin Mishra (@DrNitinMishra2) September 30, 2019
However, some objected to the use of only Hindi songs.
India isn’t Hindi, stop promoting Hindi at the tax payers cost— பிரடெரிக் ఫ్రెడరిక్ פרידריך (@fnoble20) September 30, 2019
The video comes soon after PM Modi's US visit where he addresses the diaspora in Texas and then held trade talks with US President Donald Trump. However, this is not the first that US Embassy officials in India have revealed their quirky, desi side. Last December, officials had shared a video of all employees participating in a song and dance routine to celebrate the festive season.
American diplomats love being in #IncredibleIndia. So much so that they sometimes express it in surprising ways. #HappyHolidays from all of us at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi! Watch and dance along! #HolidayCheer #Happy2019 pic.twitter.com/tstNw5qHqU— U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) December 21, 2018
With the beginning of Navratri, it seems the US embassy has found the perfect way to complement the desi spirit of celebration.