NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Thousands of miles from Washington, where Jimmy Carter’s funeral is scheduled next week, an Indian village named after the former US president fondly remembers his visit nearly 50 years ago, paying tribute.
A one-term president since 1977, Carter, who died Sunday at the age of 100, will have a state funeral at Washington National Cathedral on Thursday.
‘Carterpuri’, or ‘Carter Village’, is a dusty hamlet about 20 miles (32 km) outside Delhi, which was called Daulatpur Nasirabad when Carter’s (NYSE: ) mother, Lillian, briefly lived and worked there as a nurse and volunteer 1960s.
“The villagers dressed his wife in a traditional costume… He (Carter) also tried the hookah,” recalled one resident, Moti Ram, of the time Carter was walking through the village with his wife, Rosalynn.
Preparations were made months before the visit on January 3, 1978, some villagers told news agency ANI, in which Reuters has a minority stake. The village was decorated, and a welcome program was held on the main square.
The residents were so delighted by the Carters’ visit that they changed the name of their village in his honor.
This week, after hearing of his death, they paid tribute to Carter by placing a wreath on his framed picture and offering flowers before it, media said.
Eric Garcetti, the US ambassador to India, mentioned the village in a post on X after Carter’s death, saying it was “a testament to the high regard for him here in India”.
He posted a picture from the visit showing Rosalynn, dressed in traditional costume, laughing as Carter stands next to her surrounded by a crowd of villagers.
A letter Carter later sent thanking residents for their efforts to make the event “a success and so personally satisfying” is among the village’s most prized possessions, along with photographs.
