Bush has a glimpse of Bharat and India

Hyderabad is a perfect representative of the two Indias, and that's what the most powerful man in the world, US President George W Bush, got a peek into during his flying visit to Hyderabad.

If the country's oldest agricultural university Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU) gave the US President a glimpse of the agrarian India, it was a tryst with future CEOs at the India School of Business (ISB).

After a brief ceremonial welcome and signing a few autographs for the kids waiting at the airport, US President Bush boarded a copter for ANGRAU.

Accompanied by wife Laura Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and American Ambassador in India David Mulford, the President was at his informal best admiring the craftsmanship of self-help group members and interacting with farmers from all the districts of Andhra Pradesh.

This apart, he also showed a fair amount of inquisitiveness about the seed development project, and demonstration farms besides obliging some with his autograph.

The interpreter was chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy who assisted him all throughout his stay at the university. According to the Chief Minister, the US President evinced keen interest and knowledge in farming and farming practices. Though the President was originally scheduled to spend around an hour at the university, he stretched it by another half-an-hour as he strolled across the demonstration farms where the scientists had grown various crops for research.

Condoleezza Rice, who visited the university ahead of Bush, was gifted with a handloom saree and a couple of handmade purses. Bush's interest in self-employment activities of the women members in the state later found expression at the India School of Business. Speaking to young entrepreneurs at the ISB, he said micro financing was a success story across the world. Changing roles, Bush addressed a select gathering of young entrepreneurs and students at the ISB where he spoke on a range of topics from the strategic partnership between US and India, nuclear agreement, his government's perception on outsourcing, and also some far reaching policy initiatives like review of export control regimes.

With several of the participants having exposure to centres of excellence in the US, Bush favoured more such exposure for Indian students so that the people of both the countries could develop a better understanding of each other. The protest rallies by the left parties or the bandh in the old city failed to have any impact on the visit, which was kept a low key affair.