Speech that nobody followed

Indian penchant for punctuality can thwart even the best of intentions

“Atithi devo bhava” (the guest is equivalent to God) is the tagline of the Ministry of Tourism. But the Indian penchant for punctuality — rather, the lack of it — can thwart even the best of intentions. To the embarrassment of the Ministry of External Affairs and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the visiting Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was a victim of such lack of punctuality. The Crown Prince is the chief guest at this year’s Republic Day parade. On Wednesday, the PM and the Crown Prince addressed a joint media conference. While Modi delivered his statement in English, there was no interpreter available to translate the Crown Prince’s speech. Neither the PM nor anyone in the Indian delegation or the media corps could understand his speech. It turned out that the interpreter could not turn up in time for the event.