Washington, Sept 23: The lines were repeats, the stats were mere updates, and the inevitable verses had been heard before.
But for some 3,000 people of Indian origin who trooped in with military precision to the Jacob Javits Center in New York Sunday evening, the annual darshan of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was as good as it gets.


The yearly ritual has become such a rite of passage for Vajpayee that some officials joked that he might as well begin the NDA-BJP election campaign here in the "vilayati" pocketborough, so loyal is the NRI constituency.


Indeed, the buzz during the event was that the ruling establishment is already lining up funds for the election.


But Vajpayee, vintage and vigorous, disarmed the gathering and won warm applause by declaring "we are not just eyeing your money (for developing India), we are also after your hearts and minds."


He hardly needed to make the pitch. Rallied together by India's ambassador-at-large Bhisham Agnihotri, 34 Indian and Indian-American organizations representing a wide spectrum of India's regional and professional diversity were introduced to the Prime Minister and together they pledged to help India become a developed country by 2020.


It was a stirring display of Indian pluralism and unity by groups often seen as divisive and scrappy. In fact, the entire event, which lasted just over an hour, was organized with clockwork precision and was probably shortest Prime Ministerial NRI engagement in the five visits he has made here in six years.

Vajpayee too dispensed with the extempore speech he typically makes at these events for a written address that was still informal and engaging.


Also a first, the Hindi speech could also be read instantly in English close caption on two big screens for the benefit of the many NRIs who don't know Hindi.


The translation and transcription was done out of Pittsburg, a technological uptick that lent an added timbre to Vajpayee's boast that wherever you see a computer set-up across the world you'll see an Indian around. The PM's address was also available to 40,000 listeners on ECB radio, an ethnic network.


The speech itself was largely a repeat – or an update – of what he has been saying on previous visits. The economic upswing in India, the fact that it has become food surplus, and turned from debtor to creditor, he milked these bragging rights for all it is worth.


"But this is just the beginning, not the end," he said, asking NRIs and PIOs to not only put their money where their mouth is, but also contribute in terms of ideas and inputs.



Vajpayee also tugged at their heartstrings, saying, "We are born of the same womb of Mother India. You will never feel alone or abandoned."



The Prime Minister, who looked in much better physical shape than during previous visits, also recited his favourite poem Geet Naya Gaata Hoon, as he has done for the past three years.

But his recitation was vigorous, passionate, and even those who had heard it before responded positively to it.


About the familiar theme of terrorism, there was just one passing mention, when Vajpayee said it epicenter existed beyond Afghanistan.



While Vajpayee was lofty and lyrical, Pakistan's military leader Pervez Musharraf was wooing his constituency a few blocks away.