A heartwarming rendition of Kishore Kumar's iconic "Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas" by India-Czech Sinfonietta Orchestra https://t.co/LzMhpmea4G — President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) 1536265403000

Bollywood knows no boundaries! More so in Uzbekistan where Raj kapoor and Nargis are household names. Salute to thi… https://t.co/8nhDtIa7jC — Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) 1533454250000

Czech Singers serenade President Kovind with Hindi songs on arrival in the country

NEW DELHI: President Ram Nath Kovind was pleasantly 'checkmated' at a Prague event on Thursday.Kovind and his wife, who are on a visit to the Czech Republic, were attending an Indian community reception in the European city when the India-Czech Sinfonietta Orchestra broke out into song.Not just any song, but one beloved in India – the Kishore Kumar classic ‘ Pal Pal Dil ke Paas ’, sung by Dharmendra to Raakhee in the 1973 film Blackmail . And best of all, the pitch-, note- and accent-perfect rendition was by a Czech singer.The orchestra was conducted by a Kolkata-born artist, Debashis Chowdhary, and the ensemble looked like it was thoroughly enjoying itself, even as President Kovind, sitting right in the front row, could be seen beaming.Just last month, external affairs minister Suhma Swaraj was similarly floored when on a trip to Uzbekistan, a local woman belted out a rendition of 'Ichak Daana, Beechak Daana' from the Raj Kapoor-starrer 'Shri 420'.As external affairs ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said, in a caption to a video of the woman singing, "Bollywood knows no boundaries! More so in Uzbekistan where Raj Kapoor and Nargis are household names. Salute to this Uzbek woman for her spirit as she hums the song 'Ichak Daana, Beechak Daana' from the classic Shri 420!"Like Kovind on Thursday, Swaraj too couldn’t stop beaming upon hearing the old Hindi classic.