Raising a toast to Thailand
CHENNAI: Lavish yet elegant, Rajendra Hall of ITC Grand Chola was decked up in purplish-beige and golds on December 3 to commemorate the joint celebration of the birth anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great, Father’s Day and National Day of the Kingdom of Thailand. A stage sat at the head of the hall and standees with vivid images of tuktuks and children playing flanked the walls, with which, the guests took photos.
As the photo sessions came to a close, Nitirooge Phoneprasert, the Consul-General of the Royal Thai Consulate took to stage to convey his speech for the night, recounting the life of the king. “Today, the Thai community in Southern India takes pride in paying tribute to the life and work of His Majesty the Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great, who is considered our nation’s symbol of unity, a source of inspiration, a statesman of many talents and benevolence. The longest-reigning monarch in the history of Thailand, he was known as Development King and his involvement in the Thai socio-economic sphere made remarkable transformation in the kingdom,” he narrated.
The Consul-General also extended his appreciation for India and all South Indian governments for their assistance in facilitating flights to their home country during the pandemic. “We should strengthen the foundation of people-to-people, tap our potentials and create new and innovative vectors of growth in areas such as education, tourism, healthcare and digital technology. As two great nations, Thailand and India can work closely to sharpen our shared future and beneficially contribute to the building of a comprehensive partnership,” he added.
With this, we raised a toast to the health and happiness of both nations to the background of their national anthems. What followed can only be labelled as gastronomic indulgence. After the Thai shrimp toast, corn fritters and other starters that were being doled out all night, we had a chance to experience authentic Thai food made by the Consulate chef — Stir fried lamb with red curry, fried chicken, pad thai, kaeng som, and more — and some North and South Indian dishes. With a side of boba tea, it was the perfect way to end the night.