Priyanka Chopra Sings Punjabi Folk Song, Shares Emotional Harvard Speech

Taking to her social media account on Friday, the global star was seen crooning the popular Punjabi folk number while playfully flaunting her long braided hair extension in her hand with silver hair accessory. Dressed in a white bathrobe, Priyanka appeared in a fun mood and seemed to have tapped into the Punjabi girl in her.

For the uninitiated, "Kali Teri Choti Paranda Tera Laal Ni" is a well-known Punjabi folk track often associated with festivity and tradition.

Talking about Priyanka Chopra, while the actress is now settled in the US, she was born in Jamshedpur in a Punjabi family and spent her formative years across various Indian cities, and has frequently expressed pride in her roots.

Priyanka now seamlessly balances her work projects in Hollywood and India, and often shares moments that reflect her deep bond with Indian traditions.

Recently, the actress was seen turning emotional as she addressed students at Harvard Business School during an India Week session. The actress was heard saying how immensely she felt proud to see an auditorium full of young students dressed in sarees and kurtas, further stating that this was exactly the India she had imagined.

Sharing her experience on her social media account, Priyanka wrote, "So, this is how my day started. I was supposed to give a fireside keynote address with one of my closest friends and business partner Anjula Acharia, to conclude India week at the prestigious Harvard Business School. The topic was 'The India we imagine'... no big deal, I thought. You can do this, Priyanka."

The actress further revealed that looking at the audience changed everything for her.

"But looking out into the audience today, I only had one thought - You are the India I imagined. Let me explain," she added.

Talking at the session whose theme was "The India We Imagine", Priyanka shed light on her own experience while studying in the US years ago, as a teenager.

Recalling her younger days in USA, she spoke about feeling like an outsider. "When my 12 year old self landed in a high school in Cedar Rapids Iowa, and subsequently to Newton North High School in Massachusetts in the mid 90s, there were not many looked like me."

Priyanka also expressed her thrill and sheer surprise to see so many Desi faces at an international University. "I would have never imagined in 30 something years, I would be speaking to you, the future of our culture, our world, on this stage, in this iconic chamber, where so many incredible people have not only spoken, but where so many leaders of the world as we know it, were born. The audience was packed... and we were Desi... and Desi allies," she shared.

"It made me want to cry, because this is not what my teenage experience looked like. But I'm so happy that you get to have it. We all stand on the shoulders of the generations before us. I'm so excited that my daughter will have all of you to look up to."

Expressing pride at seeing representation at one of the world's top institutions, she wrote, "To see an auditorium full of students, dressed in sarees and kurtas at the campus of HBS (@harvard) in Boston, Massachusetts, where I grew up... to see so many people from my community at one of the best schools in the world, made my heart burst with pride. You are the future."

Priyanka concluded by thanking the students for their warmth and also expressed gratitude to her husband Nick Jonas and daughter Malti Marie for their support, calling them her "forever Valentine's".

On the professional front, the actress is gearing up for her upcoming movie helmed by filmmaker SS Rajamouli. The much-anticipated project is titled as Varanasi and also features Mahesh Babu in the lead alongside her.

- IANS