In Pictures: Melania Trump visits ‘happiness class’ in India
US first lady Melania Trump has visited a “happiness class” at a government-run school in the Indian capital of New Delhi.
The secondary school’s curriculum dovetails with Mrs Trump’s Be Best initiative to teach children and young adults to be kind, avoid drugs and to take care of themselves.
The New Delhi state government began offering “happiness” classes 18 months ago to teach students meditation, street plays and basic obedience aimed at reducing their levels of anxiety and stress.
Mrs Trump toured a reading room, spent time with kindergarten students and watched a yoga practice.
A student band at the Sarvodaya Co-Educational Senior Secondary School played bagpipes as they greeted the first lady at the school, which was decorated with floral garlands and motifs.
She sported a floral wreath around her neck as she stopped at a reading room, spent time with kindergarten students and watched a yoga practice.
Mrs Trump later told them during brief remarks that “Sarvodaya” means prosperity to all.
Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who oversees education, tweeted that the scheme’s early results had inspired confidence among local officials that the “happiness” classes are the “ultimate solution to all violence & hate in mindsets that we are facing worldwide.”
The visit came on the same day as Mrs Trump’s husband took part in an elaborate welcome ceremony in front of the grand Rashtrapati Bhavan Presidential Palace in New Delhi.
This continued the pomp and pageantry the Indian government had lavished on Donald Trump a day earlier, as he hailed a successful meeting with Indian PM Narendra Modi.
Mr Trump told reporters: “The last two days were amazing in every sense of the word.”
The US president described the trip as “unforgettable”, “extraordinary” and an expression of “love”.
