As compared to Rushdie, Lahiri's brief speech was delivered in a calm tone although she did point out that she had been quite distressed with the recent political developments, possibly alluding to Senator John McCain's pick of Governor Sarah Palin has his running mate.
"I have been feeling quite desperate to do something to get Barack Obama elected," Lahiri said as she thanked the organisers for inviting her. "I am a mother of two small children, otherwise I would be somewhere else in a battle ground state doing what those other good people are doing to make it happen."
"No election has meant so much to me personally in my lifetime," Lahiri added. "As we all know, what Barack Obama has already achieved has changed this country for better and has changed what it means to be an American, which I can imagine for many people in this room – and certainly for me – is a very powerful thing. I hope we can do all in our power to make that change official in November."
And before she read a small passage from the story Year's End, part of the Hema and Kaushik trilogy in her new book Unaccustomed Earth, she mentioned that her parents were visiting Kolkata for the holiday season. But they cast their absentee ballots before they left their home in Rhode Island, she added.
"I found (it) so incredible, which is such a testament to how things have changed and what this election means to us all," she said.
Image: Jhumpa Lahiri speaks
Also read: Barack Obama, in his own words
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