Sare Jahan Se Accha at the White House, with mithai and golgappas

There were tempting golgappas and mithais at the White House for guests to gorge on while they listened to Mohammed Iqbal's Sare Jahan Se Accha played by the special Marine Band of the Presidential residence.

The occasion? The annual Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month celebrated at the White House with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

 Indian-American community leader and AANHPI Commissioner Ajay Jain Bhutoria spoke to PTI about the pride he felt when he was greeted with the strains of Sare Jahan Se Accha as he walked into the White House.

On X, he posted videos of himself singing along with the band and chatting with a White House staffer handing out golgappas.  

 

"It felt good," he said, adding that it was a moment of pride. He requested the band to play it "and they did," Bhutoria said.

 

Sare Jahan Se Accha was also played at the White House once earlier when PM Modi visited.