Japanese Ambassador relishes biryani with bare hands: 6 times global leaders have shown love for Indian food

Indian food is known for its sensory connect and when it comes to eating culture of India, the practice of eating with hands has always fascinated the world. In the most recent news, Japanese Ambassador to India Ono Keiichi recently shared his biryani experience from AndhraBhavan, NewDelhi, where he was spotted enjoying biryani with hands. He posted on X and said that eating biryani by hand made it taste better, comparing the experience to eating sushi in Japan. This is not for the first time that Indian flavours have tempted the global leaders. Let us take you back in time and reflect on how Indian food has fascinated global leaders.

As per Ayurveda, every finger has some spiritual significance which affects the eating and digestion. Thumb finger connects to Agni (Fire), index finger connects to Varun (Air), middle finger connects to Akash (Space), ring finger connects to Prithvi (Earth), and little finger connects to Jal (Water). It is believed that when eaten with hands, each finger brings in the representing element and they altogether balance out the functioning of the internal mechanism. In a video, nutritionist and author Rujuta Diwekar once mentioned that eating with hands in Sukhasana posture is the best thing to do. As per her video, traditionally, eating is considered to be a havan, an offering of food to the digestive fire in the stomach. So, the food that we eat must be with your hands, and the offering must be heartfelt. And as per science, eating with hands helps improve digestion because the hands contain bacteria which is not harmful but protects the body from various damaging microbes in the environment. It is also said that when we eat food with our hands, the nerve endings sense the temperature of the food and it prepares the brain for what we are going to eat and how hot or cold the food is. From the Ayurveda perspective, by touching food the nerves send the message to the body to prepare needed enzymes and digestive juices to digest that particular food.

In 2020, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen shared her love for Indian food and mentioned that she enjoys chana masala and naan a lot. She also mentioned how Indian chai reminds her of her travel days in India.

Hiroshi Suzuki, Japanese ambassador to India has also made news for loving Indian food. He was seen enjoying Maharashtrian street foods like vada pav and misal pav. He also enjoyed golgappe and mention on X. He also mentioned on Twitter (Now X) that he "really wanted to eat golgappa" ever since he saw PM Modi Narendra Modi and PM Kishida eating them together in March. Later, in the same twitter thread, he shared that he enjoyed Banarasi thali while in Varanasi. "I also enjoyed a pure Banarasi Thali, after seeing mystic Night Aarti. I thank all of you for such warm hospitality," he wrote in his post.

French President Emmanuel Macron made news in the year 20 , when he was on a trip to India and was captured enjoying chai in Jaipur. As per the video post, they enjoyed Kulhad Chai at the famous Sahu Chai Stall, which is situated in the main bazaar of Jaipur and has been running since 1968. It was established by the late Shree Ladhu Ram ji.

As per a PTI report, once Michelle Obama had mentioned that Barack Obama loves Indian spices, and she loves Indian food.

Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India was on a two-day tour to India in 2021, when he was spotted enjoying Mysore masala dosa in Bengaluru. In his post on X, he had mentioned, "Delicious #MysuruMasalaDosa!! A great way to begin my first visit to #Bengaluru."

In 2020, Kamala Harris also expressed her love for Indian food including dosa and sambar. She is also a lover of idli podi.