US President Donald Trump will not like to be told that his new East Wing “event space" in the White House complex is not a new idea, but the fact is that late President Pranab Mukherjee commissioned and inaugurated a new dining and cultural space in the Rashtrapati Bhavan estate way back in 2014. Trump may, of course, say Mukherjee stole the idea from him, as he (in his hotel baron avatar) had broached it to then-President Barack Obama back in 2010.

But Mukherjee’s words at the opening of the ceremonial hall sound very much like the White House’s explanation for the need for a $200 million extension to the official residence, funded privately by Trump and a consortium of rich donors. The press release from that day quotes President Mukherjee as saying, “The construction of the Ceremonial Hall will give us the much-needed flexibility to continue with our functions even in times of inclement weather."

The statement adds that President Mukherjee “expressed confidence that the Ceremonial Hall shall prove to be an important value addition to the mosaic of buildings that comprise the President’s Estate… Built as an extension of the existing auditorium, the 55m x 41m Ceremonial Hall has been built keeping in mind the requirements of August 15 ‘At Home’ Receptions and ‘Guards of Honour’ for visiting foreign dignitaries during inclement weather."

With an area of around 25,000 square feet, the Indian ceremonial hall (it could hardly be called a ballroom in swadeshi Bharat, especially when the British-era one inside Rashtrapati........

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