Jan Nayak Clinton's day out in Lucknow

For former United States president Bill Clinton, it might have been just a stopover between his official visits to Uzbekistan and China.

But his 15-hour stay in the capital of India's most populous state on Wednesday gave a rare boost to the morale of the leaders of the otherwise backward and badly governed Uttar Pradesh.

Courtesies and pleasantries are after all part of every social ritual.  And it was no wonder that Clinton left no stone unturned in praising Uttar Pradesh and its Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav for playing super host.

He narrated how he too had always strived to promote peace in the world and to bring people together. "I would like to do whatever I can to push UP's development," he said.

Yadav too showered praise on the former US president, describing him as "Jan-Nayak" (people's leader).

He also thanked Clinton for including Amar Singh in the Clinton Global Initiative, run by the Clinton Foundation.

Exchange of compliments preceded the hour-long extravaganza by India's famous choreographer Shiamak Davar at a specially erected exquisite 'pandal' on the sprawling lawns of the chief minister's official residence.

It was here that Mulayam and his co-host and right-hand man Amar Singh, the Samajwadi Party general secretary lent Clinton a taste of 'Sham-e-Awadh' (an evening of Lucknow) with a blend of the West.

Davar too made it a point to put up such a remix. Perhaps, keeping in mind the former US president's taste, he concentrated on a kind of unique fusion of the Lucknawi 'Kathak' and the American jazz.

At the banquet that followed was an exquisite range of the choicest champagnes and wines followed by a vast spread of the Awadhi and Mughlai cuisine. It was another matter that instead of engaging famous local chefs, the hosts preferred to fly down caterers from Delhi.

The beautifully laid out fully air-conditioned temporary hall was reminiscent of the Nawabi era, with the chefs and bearers dressed in traditional kurta–chooridaars. The entire venue was filled with the aroma of Lucknow's traditional 'itr' (perfume).

Besides the traditional 'chaat', the menu included a wide range of Mughlai dishes– Shahi gelawat ke kabab, Salmon ka Tikka, Sigri ka Chaap for starters.

The main course included prawns in tomato sauce, meat in golden sauce, Khumb, Bhutta, Methi, mushrooms with corn in lentil gravy. A mixture of seven daals, stuffed bitter gourd and mixed vegetables.

Lucknow's Nawabi flavour was well reflected in the desserts too– Malaai-paan , Husn-e-ara , Kulfi, and Rabri with Imarti and Malpua to name a few.

President Clinton made it a point to walk up to every table and shake hands with each of the guests. However, editors invited to the show dutifully followed the chief minister's pointed instructions and shunned any questions.

To match Clinton's charm, the host list had superstar Amitabh Bachchan, who not only set the tone for the evening with his impressive voice, but also promptly interpreted the chief minister's Hindi speech in English.

But the only other Bollywood star of eminence was Hema Malini with her daughter Esha  and Bachchan's wife Jaya and son Abhishek.

The select gathering of 200-- odd guests seemed to get completely drowned in the aura of the three-hour-long affair-- visibly an Amar Singh show all the way.

For sometime, everyone was compelled to forget that not far from the glitterati, at least 15 persons were dying every day on account of the killer Japanese Encephalitis.

Contrary to loud claims about the arrival of leading industrialists of the country, only a handful-- that too belonging to what is called the Amar Singh club-- eventually turned up. Anil Ambani, K V Kamath of ICICI, Pratap Reddy of Apollo Hospitals and Subroto Roy of Sahara group were present.

Surprisingly, even several members of the much-hyped UP Development Council, headed by Amar Singh, were also conspicuous by their absence.

Yet, Clinton's remark that he 'will do whatever I can for UP' left everyone floored and over-awed.

Former prime minster Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was earlier slated to join the banquet, chose to eventually cancel his programme.

Clinton, who had arrived from Uzbekistan by a  chartered plane at 7.15 am on Wednesday, took off directly for China at about 10 pm.

He spent the whole day relaxing at the Taj Residency hotel. Chief Minister Yadav and Amar Singh who did not show up at the airport on his arrival, however, made it a point to see him off in the evening.

Clinton's entourage included well-known expatriate hotel magnate Sant Chatwal. Among others in the delegation were members of the Clinton Foundation, including Douglas Band, Rank Gustra, Justin Cooper, Jay Carson and Tim Philips.

Two other members, Darcy Landsman and Satish Narayanan had arrived a day earlier.

While everyone wondered who was footing the bill for the truly extravagant reception accorded to the former US president, Amar Singh took the opportunity to clarify that the government was not involved in the show at all.

"Not a penny of the government has been used in hosting the Clinton visit to Lucknow," he told the gathering at an earlier function meant to mark the launching of the Rural Health Mission in the state.

He claimed, "The UP Development Council is footing the entire bill for the programme."  But from where the Council will get its funds is a mystery.