It's great to be back, says Clinton

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">NEW DELHI: Devoid of the pomp, traditional ceremony, media glare and the unprecedented security cover that were associated during his state visit in 2000, former US president Bill Clinton quietly checked into Maurya Sheraton-his favourite sojourn in the national Capital.<br /><br />Arriving late Thursday night, Clinton with folded hands said, "It is great to be back in Delhi" and his old acquaintances at the hotel ushered him towards the Chandragupta suite where he stayed during his last two visits.<br /><br />The aura and his boyish grin were still present, but what missing was the swarm of women and, of course, the parliamentarians, political leaders and the press.<br /><br />But there was something that made him happier.A sumptuous dinner, which he ordered in his room from Dhampukht restaurant.<br /><br />On Friday morning, Clinton was greeted by dozens of cheering students asking "Hello, how are you sir". Some shaking hands with the "awesome guy".<br /><br />"I have slept little last night. But I am always wide awake in this country," he said.<br />He chit chat with the students at a "breakfast meeting" at Maroush, another restaurant in the hotel and looked amused by the way the children were speaking his language.<br /><br /><br />The children from the Ram Rati Gupta Women''s Polytechnic in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, which he visited during his last visit in 2001, were literally awe struck to meet somebody of his stature. The institute is set up by Vinod Gupta, Clinton''s friend and chief of Info-USA, a $250 million Omaha-based enterprise.<br /><br />The institute has a centre for multimedia technology, named after Clinton''s wife, New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. <br /><br />"Hillary is active in politics and is in a position to do more than a former politician like me," Clinton said.<br /><br />Clinton said the polytechnic symbolised what India should be doing to extend economic opportunities to the rural areas.<br /><br />"He still has that aura and we are still treating him as the president," a hotel staff remarked.<br /><br />"This time he has come as a "friend of Maurya" and we have made sure that he enjoys our service to the hilt," she said.<br /><br />"Since he loves Diet Coke and Kingfisher Beer, we have stuffed the room''s refrigerator with these aerated drinks," she added.<br /><br />According to the hotel staff, Clinton would be served mango ice-cream besides his other favourite dishes including <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">chicken tikka</span>. He was excited by the "choice" of Indian cuisine last time at the Bukhara, the hotel''s restaurant that serves cuisine from the North West Frontier Province. <br /><br />Clinton is on a private visit to thank three Indian companies that have joined hands with his foundation to help provide affordable HIV/AIDS drugs globally.<br /><br />In a deal with the William J Clinton Presidential Foundation in October, three Indian pharmaceutical majors -- Ranbaxy Laboratories, Cipla and Matrix Laboratories -- along with South Africa''s Aspen Pharmacare Holdings promised to make drugs available to people in African and Caribbean nations at about half the current price.<br /><br />Clinton on his two-day private visit met with the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and would go on Saturday to see the Taj Mahal, the marble monument to love he toured with his wife Hillary and daughter Chelsea during his state visit.<br /><br />But this time around, there would possibly be no overzealous official wanting to raise the water level in the Yamuna so that grime and dirt would not be visible to the dignitary as they did during his previous visit.</div> </div>