Doing a Bobby

If you visit the state capitol in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, from where Bobby Jindal has just made it to gubernatorial office as the first person of Indian origin to have done so...

If you visit the state capitol in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, from where Bobby Jindal has just made it to gubernatorial office as the first person of Indian origin to have done so, you come across information on many other 8220;firsts8221;. Baton Rouge has seen the 8220;first colonial governor8221;, 8220;first American governor8221;, 8220;first Confederate governor8221; and 8220;first Black governor8221;.

Founded in 1720, Baton Rouge of today has a lot more to offer than Cajun curry. The day after we arrived, we had an appointment to meet the mayor-president of Baton Rouge. He made each member of our group an 8216;honorary mayor8217; of the city for a day and handed over the symbolic 8216;key to the city8217;, with a citation. Now with Bobby Jindal making it to the top office, I realise the importance of being honorary mayor of Baton Rogue, even if it was only for a day!

So how did Baton Rouge get its name? French explorers, leading an expedition along the Mississippi River, sighted a red stick that was coloured with the blood of fish and animals and was fixed there to divide the Houmas Indians from the Bayougoula Indians. They named it 8216;Le Baton Rouge8217;, or the red stick. The French influence is discernible in the architecture of Baton Rogue, and in the Cajun food, music and rituals. Cajuns were originally French 8212; early settlers from Canada who were driven away by the British. Cajun Christmas, Festivals Acadiens and Mardi Gras are some of the very popular festive occasions celebrated here with a gaiety bordering on wildness. Christmas fireworks on the banks of the Mississippi are a local rage.

We were lucky to see a performance of Arthur Miller8217;s Death of a Salesman at a theatre in Baton Rogue and meet up with Mohinder Singh, a burly Jat from UP who teaches Law in Grambling University. He was, hold your breath, the SHO in the Jama Masjid area during the Emergency!

Clearly, there are many who have made the same transition that Bobby Jindal8217;s parents had, when they left sadda Punjab for Louisiana.