Priyanka Chopra moved to tears by Indian students in traditional wear at Harvard

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."

However, 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 those years, 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. She said she never imagined that decades later she would be addressing a packed hall at Harvard. 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".

Talking about the actress, on the professional front, is gearing up for her upcoming Hollywood film "The Bluff", where she will be seen in a power-packed role. She is also set to star in filmmaker SS Rajamouli's much-anticipated project, Varanasi which also features Mahesh Babu in the lead alongside her.

- IANS