Diary: Team Brings In Everything, But Cellphones

With a flick of the finger as many as 1,200 mobile phones were organised for the guaranteed uninterrupted service for the five-day visit of the dignitary. The communications wing of the White House has entrusted the job to an Indian agency, as the technology used in the US is not compatible with the GSM technology in use here.

* PRESIDENT BILL Clinton is likely to be presented with a traditional Jodhpuri coat, once the favourite of British rulers, during his visit to Jaipur. The coat is being stitched by Kishore Singh, son of late Devi Lal, who was considered the best weaver of Jodhpuri coat in his time. Singh, carrying on with his father's tradition, told newsmen that several prominent personalities, including the late USSR President Bulganin and late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, were his clients.

 

* THE PRESIDENT is taking his visit to India very seriously. Not just because it is the first by an American President since 1978, but because he feels he needs to get to know India and its people. To prepare himself for the visit, the American head of state has been brushing up on his reading about Indian history, culture and contemporary situation. He is reported to have acquired books and films on this subcontinent and spent time reading or seeing them.

* A high-level team of US officials led by Consul General in Mumbai David Good has met Maharashtra Chief Secretary Arun Bongirwar to give final touches to Bill Clinton's visit in the metropolis. Apart from meeting Mr Bongirwar at the state secretariat, the team also held consultations with senior police and Home department officials including Mumbai police chief Ronnie Mendonca. It has finalised Hotel Oberoi as the place where Mr Clinton would by staying during the visit.