Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi greets Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on the lawns and Mamata Banerjee on the first floor of Raj Bhavan. (Amit Datta)

Arrival: The CM’s convoy rolled in at 4.10pm through the south gate.

Meet-and-greet: The governor’s staff received the chief minister and escorted him to Gandhi, who was mingling with the invitees. Both host and guest had to wade through a sea of people to meet.

Tete-a-tete: A brief pause followed after the two had clasped hands and exchanged pleasantries. The governor, in a black bandhgala and churidaar, made the first move. “The five years went by so fast,” he said, with a smile. Bhattacharjee responded with a nod and a smile.

During the brief exchange, they discussed Monday’s swearing-in ceremony for acting governor Devananda Konwar and the possibility of them meeting in Chennai. Before leaving, Bhattacharjee came face-to-face with Gandhi once more for another couple of minutes. He departed after shaking hands with the governor, one last time.

Sip-n-bite: The chief minister had only a cup of tea though the spread included vegetable patty, dhokla, cake and sandesh.

Body language: During his 25-minute stay at Raj Bhavan, the chief minister tried to wear a smile throughout and nodded at known faces. Though his cabinet colleagues — finance minister Asim Dasgupta and PWD minister Kshiti Goswami — and party comrade Biman Bose were present at the venue, he spent more time talking to his senior officials like chief secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti, in one corner of the lawn.

Gift: The chief minister handed over two books, wrapped in a gift paper, to the governor. Till late on Sunday, the governor had not got a chance to unwrap the gift, said Raj Bhavan sources.

Departure: The convoy left Raj Bhavan around 4.35pm.

Parting shot: “The chief minister was not looking comfortable. Very few people from among the invitees went up to him… He had only his officials for company,” observed one of the guests.

Exit Buddha

Enter Mamata

Arrival: Mamata’s convoy rolled in through the north gate around 5.10pm.

Meet-and-greet: As the governor had left the tea party by then, Mamata — flanked by Opposition leader Partha Chatterjee and Union minister Mukul Roy — headed straight to the first-floor study of the governor. Gandhi came down from his second-floor suite to meet Mamata in his study.

Tete-a-tete: Behind the closed doors of the governor’s study, the Trinamul leader spent around 25 minutes with Gandhi. “I told him that we wanted him to stay as the governor of our state. We respect his humanity. He loves the people of the state… He has also learnt Bengali and quotes regularly from Tagore,” said Mamata. She had also “apologised” to the governor on behalf of the people of Bengal. “He was unnecessarily accused of being partisan.... They have insulted him. As I don’t want to be seen with such people, I came in after the party. I had informed the governor about my late arrival well in advance.”

Sip-n-bite: Tea and some snacks were rushed to the study for Mamata.

Body language: Mamata was all smiles from the moment she got out of the black Santro. Her comment after learning that the governor’s eyes had turned moist at the end of the tea party said it all. “I have come at the right time… Everybody has left and the governor is feeling bad. So, I am here,” said Mamata before getting into the lift.

Gift: “A piece of traditional Bengal art,” is how Mamata described it. When asked whether it was her creation, she said, “Yes, yes, I have painted it.”

Departure: Mamata’s convoy rolled out of the north gate around 5.50pm.

Parting shot: “She missed an opportunity to make it a Mamata show. Had she come for the tea party, she could have pitted her popularity against that of the chief minister, who cut a lonely figure,” said a guest, who was waiting to meet her.