Mahabalipuram: Dressed up in the traditional south Indianoutfit, and looking every bit Tamilian, Prime Minister Narendra Modi metChinese President Xi Jinping for the second informal summit between India andChina in Tamil Nadu's Mahabalipuram on Friday.

For the crucial meet in the historic coastal city ofMamallapuram, PM Modi donned the traditional outfit of Tamil Nadu and wore awhite veshti with border, a white half-sleeved shirt and a borderedangavastram.

Known with different names in various south Indian states,Veshti is a cloth piece that covers the lower part of the body and is drapedfrom around the waist. This rectangular piece of cloth, which is unstitched,and measures about five yards in length bears the signature of the South Indianheritage and gives a man an elegance inherent to his own culture. Dhoti ispaired with a white or an off-white shirt when worn on formal occasions and isaccompanied with an Angavastram, a piece of cloth or stole, worn by men fromthe Hindu community, which is draped over the shoulders. It is a longrectangular cloth meant to cover the torso. This piece of clothing is generallyworn with the South Indian dhoti or veshti especially among the Brahmins andtheir temple priests. The Angavastram was devised as a solution to ensure thata devotee is not wearing dirty cloth while worshipping his diety. This cloth,draped over one shoulder, serves as a napkin or handkerchief of sorts so thatdevotees can clean their hands on this garment and then discard them to oneside immediately, before beginning their rituals and prayers.

Veshti, or Dhoti as is it called in North India bears aspecial place in the minds of South Indian men. In Tamil Nadu, it is customaryto wear an elegant veshti while entering a temple sanctum and almost everybridegroom can be seen donning a veshti for his marriage ceremony.On Friday,Chinese President Jinping arrived in India for the second India-China informalsummit. PM Modi tweeted in Chinese, Tamil and English welcoming President Xi toIndia. On his arrival to Mahabalipuram, PM Modi gave a tour to the President ofChina of three important UNESCO world heritage sites, Arjuna’s Penance, PanchRathas and Shore Temple in Mamallapuram. The town has a rich history and duringthe Pallava empire, it is believed to have been an important trading-postconnected with China.

Mahabalipuram, or Mamallapuram, was chosen as the spot forthe crucial meet by PM Modi himself and the process to hold arrangements forthe informal summit started in June 2019. India sent its first recce team inJune to the town. While history played an important role, the fact that PM Modiis keen to have big summits outside national capital also played the clincher.PM Modi will also be gifting the Chinese President, though it has not beendisclosed what will be given by the Indian side.