On India tour, Rockefeller makes his way quietly

David Rockefeller may be one of the richest men in America, but while he’s in India, he is just another ordinary tourist. On Monday aft...

David Rockefeller may be one of the richest men in America, but while he’s in India, he is just another ordinary tourist. On Monday afternoon, he walked half a kilometre to see a Kathakali performance and waited patiently while the artists donned their dance paint. The function started late but this did not ruffle him a bit.

Octogenarian David Rockefeller, grandson of America’s first billionaire John Rockefeller, is on a private tour of south India. ‘‘India is one of the biggest and most important countries in the world,’’ said Rockefeller, the former CEO and chief of the Chase Manhattan Bank.

Rockefeller has made many trips to India, the first being to meet his Jawaharlal Nehru. ‘‘I come here again and again to get a flavour of the culture,’’ he said. This is, however, his first trip to south India, and while the Munnar hills and Alleppey backwaters have impressed him, it’s the temples of Tanjore “which remain the most memorable part of his visit.’’

Rockefeller is accompanied by his grandchildren Rebecca Rockefeller and Christopher Lindstom and daughter Peggy Dulaney. Dulaney, however, has cut short the tour circuit to the World Social Forum at Mumbai. ‘‘Peggy feels strongly on certain issues. She feels that the public and private sectors need to work together, not against each other,’’ he said.

Parthala flyover in Noida barely visible through a dense cover of smog

2 days after Diwali, Delhi continues to inhale ‘very poor’ air

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Residents in Delhi once again woke up to thick smog on Wednesday morning, with an AQI of 345 on October 22 at 5.30 am, falling in the ‘very poor’ category according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). This is the second consecutive day of deteriorating air quality in Delhi, after the national capital celebrated Diwali.

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