Over a sumptuous spread last evening, chief minister Nitish Kumar has taken a step forward to ease tension between Raj Bhavan and the government.

The CM sweetener for D.Y. Patil, the new governor, came with a five-course dinner days after Devanand Konwar had vacated the sprawling mansion amid controversial appointments of vice-chancellors.

At 1 Aney Marg yesterday, however, the ambience was one that of cordiality. Nitish welcomed the governor — accompanied by the state’s first lady Pushpalata D. Patil and their grandson, a student in California — with a bouquet of roses as soon as his car reached the chief minister’s official residence.

Preferring anonymity, a source at 1 Aney Marg said only 14 guests were invited to the lavish dinner in honour of Patil. “All the food items were ordered from the Maurya with special care being taken to select the menu. Best of the Marathi cuisine was ordered for educationist-turned-politician-turned-governor from Kolhapur,” the source said.

The dinner — accommodating all the 14 at the huge dining table at the chief minister’s residence — started with vegetable soup and fruit juice. “To suit his taste buds, Kolhapuri chicken was served to the governor. As he is also fond of fish, a Tiger prawn item also found its way on the platter. There was mutton masala but neither the governor nor his wife had tasted that. The other dishes prepared for the governor were sizzlers, plain rice, kala dal, pili dal, dishes of brinjal, plain roti, paneer kofta, crispy potato, salad, achar, chutney and papad. The famous Marathi dessert of shrikhand was also served besides local sweet dish of khaja.”

The source added: “Only four ministers attended the dinner — from 8pm to 10pm — deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, education minister P.K. Shahi, art, culture and youth affairs minister Sukhda Pandey and food and consumer protection minister Shyam Rajak.” The guest list also included MLC Devesh Chandra Thakur, a Nitish confidant, and Anjani Kumar Singh, the principal secretary to chief minister.

“While interacting with the governor, Modi wanted to know about the educational institutions founded by him and the way he manages those. Without specifics, Nitish was having a normal chat with the governor,” said the source. The governor also looked quite impressed with the hospitality at 1 Aney Marg. At the end of the dinner, the first lady gifted a book, Kahta Pushpanjali, written by her, to each of the dignitaries. As return gift, Nitish gave a shawl and a Nalanda University memento to the governor and a sari to his wife.