Bollywood beats

New Delhi, March 2 (PTI): Bollywood music set the milieu for the banquet at Rashtrapati Bhavan for George W. Bush and First Lady Laura.

aval band played Dil Deke Dekho and Yeh Dil Na Hota Bechara at the Mughal Gardens while the American chief guests savoured the dinner fare. The band also played We Are The World and the tune of Swagatam.

Fair weather

New Delhi (PTI): The “beautiful weather” had President Bush thanking his hosts when he drove to Rashtrapati Bhavan for the ceremonial welcome on Thursday morning. There was a slight chilly breeze and the sun shone brightly, which prompted Bush to tell the Indian President and Prime Minister: “I thank you for arranging such a beautiful weather.”

River flavour

New Delhi (PTI): If seafood featured prominently on the menu, the names of rivers dominated the tables at the Taj Palace, where Manmohan Singh hosted luncheon for Bush. The head table was called Ganga and was occupied by the US President, his wife and the Indian Prime Minister and his wife. The 20 other tables had labels like Jhelum, Teesta, Gomti and Kaveri.

Pat for IAF

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force got a pat from Bush, who told defence minister Pranab Mukherjee that US pilots were amazed by the skills of IAF pilots in joint exercises. The American President interrupted Mukherjee during a presentation on defence cooperation just to make his point.