The owners of Leopold Cafe,the first of the targets on 26/11,are on the guest list for an interaction with President Barack Obama at the Taj Mahal Palace Saturday,one of them said. He could not confirm if the list includes families of the two Leopold waiters killed in the attack. The wives of top policemen killed have not been invited yet. Farhang Jehani,who co-owns Leopold,said he and his brother Farzad were invited by officials from the US Consulate. We were only told the President will hold a meeting on the morning on November 6,and we were invited. The official said details about timings would be communicated a couple of days before the function. About the waiters,he said,Representatives of their families come once a month to collect a monthly remuneration. They did not tell us if they had received an invite. The brothers are very excited. This is the second US President I will be meeting. I met Bill Clinton when he was here, Jehani said. Leopold staff are hoping the President drops in. I have been told the President will cross the cafe twice during his stay at the Taj. We are hopeful he will drop in,but no official notification of the possibility has come yet, Jehani said. We are hoping he steps in for a beer at least, a waiter said. Another said,Our bosses haven't said anything,but there are already discussions among waiters on who gets to serve him,in case he comes. With the event so close,the wives of policemen killed on 26/11 don't expect to be invited. It looks extremely unlikely we will be invited. We should have been called by now,if we had to, said encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar's wife Smita. Slain ATS chief Hemant Karkare's wfe Kavita agreed: It will be extremely unprofessional if they call us at the eleventh hour. From what I know,we are not going to be invited at all. Vinita Kamte,wife of former Addl CP Ashok Kamte,said she has not been invited either.
