The mood of the room, remarkably, did not shift towards awkward as a senior minister in Madhya Pradesh attempted to regale the convention. Babulal Gaur, 85, shared an anecdote of a trip to Russia in his youth. A local leader's wife, he said, had asked him how his dhoti remained in place without a belt or a zip. Mr Gaur recalled that in what was apparently intended as witty banter, he said he could teach her the art of draping a dhoti, but in private.
