CHANDIGARGH, India – Stephen Harper is trying two different approaches to courting more Indian trade while on his tour of the country — the prime ministerial hard sell, and a soft sell that sometimes involves spicy food.

The soft sell was in full display Wednesday evening as Harper sat down to a meal on the sidewalk outside a strip-mall canteen in the Punjabi capital. He tapped his hands on his knees as a traditional dance troupe whirled and shouted around him in front of “Deluxe Dhaba”.

A noisy gaggle of local media clamoured to get past security and see the spectacle.

At the tables around him were members of the Indo-Canadian caucus and some of the Canadian business delegation accompanying him on this leg of his trip. Personal, familial connections between Canada and India are viewed as a critical calling card for those who would like to increase two-way trade.

Even the energetic local dancers plan on studying in Canada next year at the University of the Fraser Valley in B.C.

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