Nasscom chief, Kunal Bahl bowled over by Amanda Gorman’s verse; Mahindra tweets about ‘Kamala Devi Harris …’

America got a new President in Joe Biden on Wednesday. The 78-year-old was sworn-in as the 46th president of the United States at the inauguration ceremony in Washington DC. His deputy, Kamala Harris, created history as she became the first woman to take oath as vice-president.
Miles away, back in India, there was reason enough to celebrate the transition of power in the Oval Office. Harris, apart from etching history by fixing the diversity score in American politics, is also the first person of Indian descent to occupy the V-P’s office. And from the time she became Biden’s running mate to the inauguration when she stood on the dais and took the oath, she has continued to win hearts in India.

Wednesday was no different. Dressed in purple, the 56-year-old - whose mother was born in Tamil Nadu - confirmed her allegiance to upholding the democratic values that defined America. And the historic moment was not lost on corporate tycoon Anand Mahindra who tweeted a video of her raising her right hand and taking the oath. The chairman of the Mahindra group - which has interests across technology, automobiles and defence - captioned his tweet: “Kamala Devi Harris …. I’m letting that sink in.”


Mahindra was not the only one overwhelmed by Harris taking over. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the founder of Biocon, also retweeted a video posted by the Democratic leader herself captioned aptly: “I’m here today because of the women who came before me.”


If Harris’s Indian roots tilted the scales in her favour, there was another woman who stole the show. Poet-laureate Amanda Gorman had her own moment in the Biden ceremony as she recited some powerful lines about change and offered a hopeful vision for a deeply divided country with her poem ‘The Hill We Climb’.

And in Debjani Ghosh, the 22-year-old found a fan. The chief of Nasscom, which is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group focused mainly on Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing industry, quote-tweeted a WSJ journalist Julie Bykowicz who had shared a verse used by Gorman at the ceremony.


Harsh Mariwala, the Marico Group chairman, also found Gorman “powerful, moving, inspiring & reflective” as he described her in his tweet.


Gorman's recital was also what Snapdeal co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl decided to show his daughter first thing in the morning.


Meanwhile, RPG Group Chairman Harsh Goenka had a cheeky take on the change of guard at the White House. His tweet was a dig at Donald Trump’s next assignment.