How The East Was Fun

The man, not The President. A hand-pumping, autograph-dispensing, thank you-saying, affable, reasonable and sensitive guy is how most Indians would remember President William Jefferson Clinton from his five-day visit to the subcontinent. And above all, will remember him for the ease with which he crossed over to that half of the world that has seen the Taj Mahal, as also the concern he showed for children he fed polio drops in Hyderabad. Spontaneous gestures of warmth rather than planned diplomatic manoeuvres is what has made the Clinton visit a hit in this country.

As Clinton mania caught on, the image that came through on television as well as the newspapers was of a warm-hearted, fun-loving man who seemed to be a genuine friend of India. Both Chelsea and her father took to all things Indian: from trinkets to tandoori. They never lost an opportunity to praise the hospitality being showered on them and went out of their way to be polite to bell boys and chefs, chauffeurs and security guards.

And the US president was equally indulgent of those who broke through the barriers and reached out to him. William, a driver from the US embassy, was hanging around the hotel lobby when he saw Clinton come out of the lift. "Mr President, Sir," he called out. Clinton turned around, and William quickly asked him if he could take his photograph. The security men intervened and tried to push William away. But Clinton stopped them and taking the camera from the driver’s hands, gave it to the security officer. "You take the picture," he said and posed alongside the driver.

At the Maurya, Clinton was initially stunned by the sheer size of the ‘Naan Bukhara’-it covers the entire table-but he was able to pack in a generous helping of burra kabaabs, dal makhani (and managed to impress the hotel staff by the expert manner in which he scooped the dal with his roti!) and jhinga curry. After which he ate some of his favourite kulfi ice-cream and even tried a new dish-phirni in a little clay bowl. Watching him eat, Dorothy Rodham, his mother-in-law remarked, "I was told that Indian food is quite spicy but it fits the American palate."

After the meal, Gev Desai, the executive chef, told Clinton that it was a tradition that guests visited the kitchen after the meal. Even as his security raised predictable objections, Clinton walked towards the kitchen and surprised everyone there by knowledgeably pointing out that the dal cooked for 18 hours before it was ready. Later, when waiters at the Pavilion, the hotel’s coffee shop, chided him for not eating at their restaurant, he said with a regretful smile, "I wish I had two stomachs."

In Agra, he made it a point, after delivering his eco-friendly speech under the shadow of the Taj, to come up to the rather ravishing beauty queen from Bareilly, Priyanka Chopra. But he also paid equal attention to a bunch of starry-eyed ‘kids for a green Agra’.

Sudhir Malik, banquet manager at Ashok Hotel, was also thrilled with his encounter. The hotel had hosted the PM’s lunch for the American president and the menu, comprising Lucknavi food, had been approved by the pmo. The tables, done in pink and white, were named after Indian rivers. Sitting at the ‘Ganga’ table, along with Clinton, were Vajpayee, Sonia Gandhi, Narasimha Rao, Pandit Ravi Shankar and others. After the meal was over, Malik approached the table, clutching a copy of the menu card. "It was wonderful, I enjoyed it. I’ve never had so much. God knows how I am going to do my press conference," Clinton informed him. "Well," said Sonia Gandhi, "now that you have enjoyed the food, you have to pay the price," and indicated that Malik wanted him to autograph the menu card. Soon after, other guests at the table asked Clinton, Vajpayee and Sonia for autographs.

His popularity was apparent in Rajasthan too. On his first outing at the Nayla village near Jaipur, where he sought to have a feel of women empowerment, the president charmed the village women by breaking into an impromptu jig and spent more than the scheduled one hour there.

But what he did at the conclusion of the Nayla visit surpassed his hosts’ wildest expectations. He walked out, totally disregarding security considerations, shook hands with all the policemen on duty and even waded into the crowd shaking hands everywhere. The crowd went berserk, as did the journalists covering the trip.

If at Nayla he was alone, at Amer fort-a 16th century marvel of Rajput-Mughal architecture-Clinton was the doting father. Along with Chelsea he went around the fort, walking slowly for the benefit of photographers. The news that he would not mount an elephant due to security reasons came as a dampener to traditional artistes who had pulled out their harmoniums and tablas for his benefit. The crowd outside was quite willing to wait to catch a glimpse of the presidential cavalcade.

It was all about style. And lots of charm. And Clinton came through as a refreshing change from the tiresomely officious local politicians. Perhaps no other head of state visiting India has managed to catch the public’s fancy the way Clinton has. While he may not be credited with having made any major long-lasting diplomatic breakthroughs during his five-day visit, the US president has managed to reap a lot of goodwill. It was a bumper harvest purely in PR terms.

Women he met

He charmed an entire nation. Its women too. Danseuse Mallika Sarabhai remembers as a ‘special moment’ her performance for the US president at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Later, when he met filmmaker Deepa Mehta, the president not only recognised her name but also told her that he had seen bits of her movie, ‘Fire’. Beauty queen Priyanka Chopra felt flattered by the brief attention the president bestowed upon her. As did the women MPs who met the president. Former actress Jayaprada may have antagonised her TDP colleagues by representing her party when the prime minister introduced his allies to President Clinton. But Chandrababu Naidu perhaps knew what he was doing when he decided she could do the honours better than, say, Yerran Naidu. However, it was his meeting with Rachna, widow of Rupin Katyal, that remained the most poignant yet memorable. Clinton had, in fact, expressed a special desire to meet her even before his visit. On meeting the family, he assured them that the US would do its best to nab the culprits. A gesture that brought inevitable tears to Rachna’s eyes.

Blame it on Om Prakash Chautala. The UP babus, in all their hectic preparation for Clinton’s Taj visit, decided that a half-empty Yamuna flowing by the monument might offend their visitor. Hence, their last-minute appeal to neighbouring Haryana to release water. Chautala refused-and so, quiet flowed the Yamuna. Goes to show you can’t organise everything. For the president’s banquet at Rashtrapati Bhawan, the Indian protocol team thought they’d overseen everything. Except that a few minutes before Clinton’s arrival, it began drizzling. So taken up was everyone by the event that no one thought of getting an umbrella for the president. And then the news commentators wondered why the president wouldn’t emerge out of his limo!

Don’t they say let sleeping dogs lie? While Clinton’s best buddy stayed behind, the other sniffer dogs that had flown in along with the president had difficulty recovering from jetlag. And hard as they tried, all the president’s men couldn’t rouse the sleeping dogs. Finally, it was left to the canines of the Delhi police to come to Clinton’s rescue. And though this was one problem security didn’t handle, Big Bill didn’t live up to his reputation of being a hearty eater. This despite his professed fondness for "Indian curries". While sundry bureaucrats, industrialists, journos and greenies tucked into the lavish spread laid out by the CII at the Taj Khema, Bill decided to give it a miss. Of course, one cannot know if Clinton hurried to dig into a McDonald’s McBurger on the sly in his limo.

Shopping Spree

As if his red carpet welcome weren’t enough, President Clinton bought a silk knotted Kashmiri carpet from the Maurya Shopping Arcade. Daughter Chelsea meanwhile got busy examining souvenirs. And since there was nothing official about this, secretary of state Madeleine Albright bought some jewellery, and even an all-bright, blue suede dress.

Gourmand

N ews from the Presidential platter. Bill Clinton proved to be a fast learner. No knives and forks please, the president preferred to use his hands, expertly scooping the Makhani dal with a piece of the table-sized Naan Bukhara. He equally relished the Sikandari Raan and the Tandoori phool. Dessert, for the President, was a new adventure-phirni eaten in clay shakoras-but he also had his old favourite, kulfi.