Blackwater
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WASHINGTON: You couldn't miss the pink turban if you tried. So striking was it that it not only overwhelmed his matching pink tie, it even overshadowed the two powerful men -- President Barack Obama and vice-president Joe Biden -- in front of him, and send the news media scouting to find out more about the man beneath the patka.
Washington DC-area resident Navroop Mitter never expected a shout out from the White House to attend President Obama's policy speech when he responded to a tweet from Obama's Office of Social Engagement last week asking how an extension of the payroll tax cut -- about $40 per paycheck -- would help the salaried.
''@whitehouse #40dollars pays for the coffee an entrepreneur needs to keep going so he/she can deliver those jobs we need!'' Mitter, co-founder of technology start-up GryphCo, and a motorcycle riding and nihari cooking enthusiast, responded on Twitter.
Next thing, the White House invited him over for the Obama speech on pay-roll tax cut last Tuesday as part of an outreach effort aimed at giving a natural feel to rallies and events often stacked with party faithful.
Even then, Mitter, who counts himself as an independent who admires what Obama is doing under difficult circumstances, expected to be herded to the back of the room. He joked to his family and friends that they may able to catch a glimpse of him if the camera pans.
''At the WhiteHouse. Waiting for President Obama to arrive,'' Mitter tweeted on February 21, revealing that he had seen Obama speak in person once before, during his national debut at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. But when he walked into the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House, he was propelled to the front lines.
''I had no idea I would be standing right behind the President and the vice-president,'' he told ToI in a phone conversation just before boarding a flight, even as his picture and an ABC Television story went viral on social networks.
To his luck, he had picked out a pink turban, a color traditionally work by Sikhs at weddings, to go with his pink tie. To say it stood out would be an understatement; it was such a visual treat that it sent ABC journalist Byron Wolf scouring for him on Twitter.
Mitter, whose parents immigrated from India to Canada (where he was born) and moved to the US, has degrees in religion and bio-medical engineering from Boston University. He says he's pleased with the White House outreach towards the Sikh community that will see it following up Obama's hosting of Guru Nanak birth anniversary in 2009 with a possible White House celebration of Baisakhi this year.
Navroop Mitter: Man with the pink turban unwraps White House social media outreach - The Times of India
