Chelsea celebrates Holi in Jaipur

Curiosity and excitement were writ large on the face of the dignitaries as they saw faces of the members of the royal family splashed in all hues. As the guests watched, the royal family gathering played an intense `Holi’ recreating the grandeur of the bygone era. Earlier, Chelsea and her grandmother were welcomed with "tilak" on their arrival at the palace.

After the Holi, Chelsea and Dorothy had a lunch with royal family members. The dishes served for the guests included spicy Marwari delicacies. The dignitaries visited Mehrangarh Fort where they enjoyed a panoramic view of the Sun City at the gateway of the majestic Thar desert. Chelsea and her granny, accompanied by an entourage of 28 members, arrived here on Monday morning from Delhi by a special plane. External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh accompanied them from the national capital.

Maharaja Gaj Singh, his wife and other family members received the guests at the airport from where they straight away drove to the palace to atraditional royal welcome.

Meanwhile US President Bill Clinton had a light continental breakfast on Monday after a hearty Indian tandoori dinner on Sunday night at the Maurya Sheraton hotel, before embarking for Dhaka on a day’s visit.

Clinton, who is staying in the Chandragupta Maurya suite on the 16th floor of the hotel, took a breakfast comprising among other things bread rolls, toast with jam, honey and marmalade and rounded it off with coffee and croissants.

A self-confessed lover of Indian food, Clinton, who arrived on Sunday night, went to the hotel’s popular `Bukhara’ restaurant along with daughter Chelsea, mother-in-law Dorothy Rodham and some friends and spent an hour savouring Tandoori Jhinga, Murg Tandoori, Butter Chicken, Peshawari Kebab, Tandoori Pomfret and Murg Malai Kebab, besides Sikandri Naan and other breads.

"I love Indian food," Clinton had told US mediapersons on board Air Force One, his official aircraft. The North-West frontier cuisine speciality restaurant was only given ten minutes time to prepare Clinton’s meal. A satisfied Clinton complimented the restaurant staff for the sumptuous meal and later signed autographs for some fellow diners from the US Media.

Earlier, the President briefly attended a dinner hosted by US Ambassador Richard Celeste at the hotel’s `Dum Pukht’ restaurant on the occasion of Holi.