Prime Minister Narendra Modi has thanked the Indian-American community for the warm welcome he received upon his arrival here as he was greeted by chants of 'Modi' 'Modi' outside his hotel. "A big thank you for the warm welcome in New York! Deeply touched. Looking forward to a great trip ahead," Prime Minister Modi tweeted hours after his arrival. Modi, 64, flew into New York's JFK airport on Friday on a special Air India Boeing plane on the first leg of his maiden visit to the US as Prime Minister after a nearly nine-hour flight from Frankfurt where he had an overnight halt. In a rare gesture, Prime Minister Modi came out of his huge convoy to greet a large number of Indians who had gathered outside his hotel to welcome him on his arrival to the US and were chanting his name. As a large convoy of vehicles came to the hotel he would be staying in till September 29 before moving to Washington, Modi came out and greeted people who had gathered their in a special enclosure made by the local administration. Modi greeted everyone with a namaste and also waved at the people, while walking across them outside the barricade of the enclosure. He then walked inside the hotel. Modi also shook hands with a few people who had gathered there and walked almost an entire block distance before going back to the hotel. Many people were seen taking pictures and videos of him. The crowd had gathered for over two hours to greet him. A stampede-like situation erupted as people pushed each other to see Modi. People were heard talking about him and his gesture for a long time.
