Clean-up act

When a visitor wanted to click photographs of the clay horses at the National Crafts Museum, New Delhi, a security guard came rushing to stop him. The reason, he said, pointing at the several personal security officers and policemen, was Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to visit the museum soon.

Apart from the alert security guards, a handful of safai karamcharis were frantically sweeping the cobwebs off old murals and a mason was busy repainting the brick pathway red.

This is a continuation of the cleanliness drive that began when walls with artist Ganga Devi's Madhubani paintings were 'whitewashed' in preparation for the Indo-African Summit scheduled for October-end. When the guard was asked if he knew why the PM was visiting the museum, he responded, "For a Saarc summit next Monday."