On October 11, 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi received President Xi Jinping at Mamallapuram, near Chennai, for an informal summit. Modi wore a veshti, the Tamil dhoti, with an angavastram over his shoulder. He showed Xi the temples by the shore, and the two leaders stopped for fresh coconut water.
In the evening they watched Kathakali and Bharatanatyam at the Shore Temple. Dinner was South Indian: thakkali rasam, arachavitta sambar, kadalai kuruma and kavanarasi halwa.