Obama tried to avoid

US President Barack Obama tried to avoid it, but he couldn't escape being pulled into a dance by schoolchildren celebrating the Indian holiday of Diwali, or the festival of lights. Obama sat for a while Sunday and watched admiringly as his wife, Michelle, joined girls dressed in colourful hues of blue, green, pink and orange in a swaying dance with graceful hand gestures. He appeared to resist when students from Holy Name High School in Mumbai approached. Eventually, Obama gave in, got up and strutted his stuff, too. He jumped around a little and made sawing movements with his arms. Mrs. Obama joined the children far more enthusiastically than her husband. Perhaps it was because she'd already won over the Indian media by kicking off her flats a day earlier and dancing with underprivileged children elsewhere in Mumbai. Later, on their second of three days in India as part of the president's 10-day Asian tour, the couple travelled to New Delhi and visited Humayan's Tomb, built in 1570 AD. Obama commented on India's mixture of the modern and the ancient while at the site. He also offered some thoughts on what it would take to build something like the 16th-century tomb in the U.S. "I was told this was built in seven years and for us to build something in seven years in the United States this big would be kind of tough," Obama said. "I give them a lot of credit. Good contractors." Obama said the tomb is a reminder that India's modern society is rooted in the ancient. Humayun was a member of the Muslim dynasty that ruled most of northern India from the early-16th to the mid-18th century. Built by his widow, the tomb became a burial site for various members of the ruling family and holds some 150 graves. The Obamas planned to stay at the ITC Maurya Hotel hotel in New Delhi on Sunday and Monday nights. They had dinner with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, on Sunday and they will be guests of honour at a state dinner on Monday. Aside from sightseeing, the president has been announcing a series of trade deals with Indian businesses. After he holds talks with Prime Minister Singh on Monday, Indian offiicials say they're hoping the U.S. will signal that it will ease trade restrictions on high-tech goods from India. Another highlight of the day will be Obama's speech to India's Parliament, when he will address regional security issues involving the U.S.