Before the Presidents emerged to greet the guests, who included the capital's movers and shakers and a few others drawn from other cities, much celebration was witnessed on the Indian side of the lawn.
Everyone associated with the negotiations on the Indian side -- National Security Adviser M K Narayanan,
Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, Joint Secretary (Americas) at the ministry of external affairs Dr S Jaishankar (he has a PhD in physics and was much praised by Under Secretary Nicholas Burns, anchorman for the US side in the negotiations, for his tireless hard work and the clarity with which he explained the Indian position), T K A Nair, the prime minister's principal secretary and unarguably the most powerful civil servant in the land, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia -- accepted congratulations from many guests, especially the scientific contingent (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Director General R A Mashelkar, former Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman Dr K Kasturi Rangan and agricultural champion Dr M S Swaminathan) present for presumably ensuring that India got what it wanted from the Americans without seriously undermining its nuclear ambitions.
Much of the accolades were reserved for an unassuming man in a grey suit, apparently uncomfortable with the praise: Dr Anil Kakodkar, chairman of India's Atomic Energy Commission, whose interview to The Indian Express is seen as a turning point in the Indian government's position on the negotiations.
"You are the real hero!" one guest declared to Dr Kakodkar.
"Whatever you wanted, you have got," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel complimented the nuclear boss in Marathi.
Uncharacteristically, Dr Singh -- who usually seems stiff and uncomfortable at events such as these -- looked relaxed and relieved that history had come to be made under his aegis, accepting the many congratulations that came his way with a smile, only striking a cautious note when the congratulatory messages exceeded the boundaries of effusiveness and transgressed into the realm of virtual jingoism.
Image: The Presidents and Mrs Bush stand at attention as the national anthems are played.
Photograph: Courtesy: The White House
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