And then Chelsea said, `Happy Holi’

But it was Chelsea, dressed in black trousers and a powder-blue top, bright smile encased in even brighter coral lipstick, who was the true `royal’ of the day — from the welcoming conches and drum roll, to the ghumar dancers who entertained her as she stood, smiling and waving, from the first floor of the palace.

“Chelsea is enjoying the day at different levels. She’s learning a lot about the religion and culture of India, and appreciates the warmth and hospitality of Jodhpur,” said US deputy Secretary of State, Strobe Talbott, who was earlier overheard mentioning how Chelsea had “keen political instincts”. Talbott accompanied Chelsea, along with her maternal grandmother Dorothy Rodham, the American Ambassador to India Richard Celeste and his wife, Jacqueline Lundquist, and a horde of Secret Service agents on their Jodhpur junket. Nearly 500 personnel from the Jodhpur police force had been deployed for security. The only mediapersons allowed to get up close and personal to the First Daughter were a White House correspondent-photographer team from The Washington Post.

Indicating (quite seriously) that the joint Indo-US celebration of Holi was a step towards furthering ties with the subcontinent — “we’re taking forward what Mr President has started” — Talbott later tucked into Indian cuisine with Jaswant Singh and his family, at a private lunch hosted by the Minister for Chelsea at the Risala restaurant.

Singh, who apparently went off to visit his mother while Chelsea watched people getting dunked into tubs of colour, preferred to stay away from the Holi scene. “I thought it would be a good idea for her (Chelsea) to come here for a day, since the other party (Clinton and his A-list persons, minus Talbott) went to Dhaka,” explained Singh, who had invited them to Umaid Bhavan.

When asked how she was enjoying her second visit to the country, Chelsea smartly retorted, “Happy Holi,” before she was whisked away by security personnel. Later, she demurely sat under a shamiana, posing the occasional question to the erstwhile royals who’d set up camp around her, and abstained from trying out the bhang-laced snacks. But she did say she was “enjoying Holi very much,” before heading out to Mehrangarh fort, which houses a museum, for a bit of sight-seeing, and then flying back to the Capital in a chartered plane. The trip, incidentally, was planned in less than a week, after President Clinton’s subcontinent itinerary was finalised.

In the four hours that she spent at the hotel, Chelsea disappeared into her suite many times to “freshen up” and took a lot of interest in the festive activities. “She is a very charming girl, and I’m sure would have loved to play Holi in other circumstances,” said Gaj Singh. Apparently, she was missing mum Hilary — campaigning in the US for a Senate seat — who would have “loved to see the colour spectacle,” added Singh.

And was Papa Clinton missing anything? “He definitely is. And he has a very good source to tell him what he missed when he gets back in the evening.” This, from strategic dialogue expert, Talbott.