Clinton Takes Aarti In His Stride
By Rajnish Sharma
The Times of India, 20th March 2000
NEW DELHI: Colourful gulal, rangoli, flowers and, of course, women in bridal finery greeted a cheerful Bill Clinton when he strode into the Maurya Sheraton hotel on Sunday evening.
Looking absolutely fresh despite the 16-hour flight, Clinton, wearing a blue suit, light-blue shirt and a bluish tie, was given a traditional Indian welcome after arriving at the hotel at 8.46 pm.
The first car to drive into the hotel was a white Mercedes, with chief protocol officer Manbir Singh, followed soon after by a black jeep of the US secret service.
And then came the black stretch limousine carrying Clinton, daughter Chelsea and mother-in- law Dorothy Rodham. As per initial plans, Clinton and his entourage were to enter the hotel from the main lobby, but last minute changes saw them coming in from the Sheraton Towers gate.
Eight women in bridal finery from different states performed traditional aarti and garlanded him. ITC chairman Y C Deveshwar and managing director of ITC Hotels Habib Rehman were also present there to greet him.
Clinton was to go directly to his 16th floor presidential suite, Chandragupta, earlier but he changed his mind and waved at the 70 to 80 senior hotel managers waiting in the main lobby. And then unexpectedly, walked up to them and shook hands individually with all.
The shocked but delighted staff, in turn, cheered him with ``Welcome to India''. ``This is a very warm gesture...there is no hint of any jet-lag at all,'' gushed an excited manager.
The hotel had arranged for a Japanese flower arrangement at the lobby, titled ``Serenading the heavens for peace on earth'', with liliums and candy-tufts. Clinton also shook hands with foreign mediapersons, who had arrived a day or two earlier, at the ``White House Filing Centre''.
Clinton then went directly to the Dum Pukht restaurant to attend a banquet hosted by US ambassador Richard Celeste, with 150 guests specially chosen for the occasion. The steps leading to the restaurant were decorated with rangoli. On one side, were present traditional Holi sweets and heaps of colourful gulal.
Inside, the restaurant itself was decked up to mark the vibrant festival of colours. A waterfall with large idols of Krishna and Radha, playing Holi, Rajasthani Baandhni Silk and light Indian music in the background completed the scene.
Later, Clinton went to the famous Bukhara and sat at the very same table (number 64) used by Hillary and Chelsea on their last visit to India.