In India, Congress president Sonia Gandhi's accent always raises eyebrows; particularly among the upwardly mobile urban. But, for Pakistan's Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan, the Congress president's accent seemed to have been no issue as she insisted on speaking in Urdu when the two met at Mohali on March 30 for the India-Pakistan semi-final match of the cricket World Cup.
Ms. Awan revealed this while fondly narrating the meeting to a group of visiting Indian journalists here over the weekend. As the minister started speaking to the Congress president in English, Ms. Gandhi stopped her and said: ``We have three things in common: we are both women, we are elected representatives and we both can speak Urdu.'' And, with that Ms. Gandhi set the tone of their interaction; leaving the Pakistani minister with fond memories.
