By IANS
New Delhi : French President Nicolas Sarkozy was 30 minutes late for the tea reception hosted by President Pratibha Patil, keeping over 1,000 invitees lingering at the main gardens of Rashtrapati Bhavan but he more than made up for it.
Breaking protocol after the perfunctory ceremonials, Sarkozy made a beeline to the patient yet excited crowd as he went about signing autographs, shook hands with animated guests, posed for the shutterbugs and wowed about his rushed trip to the Taj Mahal – which he visited earlier in the day.
“It was fantastic, fabulous,” was how he described the monument of love in Agra, where he spent over an hour sans his girlfriend, Carla Bruni.
There were a few eager beavers in the audience who took advantage of Sarkozy’s spontaneous gesture, some who even proffered advice.
“Sir, you are good friends with India. Please ensure that nuclear commerce begins immediately after the civil nuclear deal with the US is complete,” gushed a gentleman in a three-piece suit. Sarkozy politely nodded.
One middle-aged man almost committed a faux pas by beginning to ask the French president if he was alone during his hurried visit to Agra but quickly changed tack after being nudged and elbowed by his colleague.
But the genial Sarkozy, who looked sartorially elegant and completely at ease, took things in his stride and was more than happy to be the centre of action. It finally required Chief of Protocol Sunil Lal to work his way to the French president and gently escort him to meet up with the cabinet ministers and other diplomats who were patiently waiting in a separate enclosure.
Earlier, the huge gathering comprising the diplomatic corps, politicians and bureaucrats at Patil’s second At Home reception was abuzz with possible causes for the delay in the proceedings that normally plays out with clockwork precision.
“It is almost 4.30 p.m. What is happening? Do you think he could be spending more time at the Taj? Do you think…?” quipped a senior bureaucrat mischievously, leaving the sentence open-ended. That remark was enough to set off titters among the people who had gathered around him.
Once the national anthem was over many headed straight for the refreshments and munchies that were elaborately laid out at the far end of the gardens. The Amritsari fish tikka and moong ka daal samosas were tasty but, sadly, had gone cold.