bibhu mohapatra talks about dressing the us first lady why glenn close wants to shoot a video with him and his project with the odisha govt how far is too far when it comes to measuring the distance traversed by a middle class boy from the steel township of rourkela to the white house more than just the physical distance it is about accomplishing a distant dream when news of michelle obama wearing bibhu mohapatras dress at the jay leno show reached the sleepy town of rourkela it was a reason for a collective high in odisha speaking from new york bibhu still gets goosebumps when he recalls how his family reacted to the news i had sent them a clip so that they could watch the show later when i called them up i was pleasantly surprised to know that there was a gathering at home there was a frenzy and for a moment i felt as if i had missed out on someones birthday it took some time for me to understand that they were all rejoicing the fact that the first lady of the us had worn my creation says bibhu this however doesnt mean that everyone back home understands international fashion trends when my mom was alive she had once seen a photograph of a model in one of my outfits and said that the lady doesnt wear clothes where she needs to and instead has a tail sweeping the floor says bibhu fondly laughing at the innocence that gave birth to such a comment i come from a very humble background my father who is an engineer still cant understand how one can make a livelihood by being a designer when they read about me in magazines their reaction stems out of pride and joy and not from an understanding of my creations he explains but for the man himself michelle obama wearing his creation is a reason for pride she is super real she has a trained eye and knows what exactly looks good on her i knew she would be taking my dress on her trip to the olympics before she appeared on the jay leno show i got a call from her staff at the white house saying watch out for the show youll be happy that was the longest 10 hours i had spent before i could watch the show at night ive already dressed quite a few celebs but there is something different about michelle obama her reach is huge even her staff understands what her support means to me and my fellow designers i havent met her as yet but ive heard that she has said that she feels cute in my dress as he speaks about the obama connection one wonders how he stays grounded without succumbing to an overwhelming sense of pride that comes with dizzying success that has a lot to do with my family i distinctly remember my struggle days i had followed my brother