:: OP-ED

The Royal Banquet

By Kishwar Desai

Oct 31 : Often described as the most diminutive and least impressive President that India has produced — perhaps Mrs Pratibha Patil’s stars are shining since she has arrived on the world stage just when India’s fortunes are on the ascendant. Therefore, the reception accorded to her in London on her state visit has been one of the most spectacular — and very heartfelt.

The British are best when they do pomp and pageantry and for Madam President they had pulled out the stops. Probably the best evening in her honour this week was the State Banquet held by the Queen in Windsor Castle and I have to say it was mesmerising with its sheer splendour. One hopes that one day we, back home in India, will be able to learn how to arrange the perfectly synchronised reception, complete with trumpeters!

Just the glitter of the solid gold candelabras on the table and the gleam from the diamond and ruby tiara worn by the Queen was enough to daze most of the former residents from her erstwhile empire. However, as I have mentioned before, this Queen is very charming with a kindly air about her — which quite outweighs the ceremony which surrounds her. Therefore the evening, which ran with a clockwork precision, was grand but not overwhelming and we all came away with the impression that we all, individually, had been given a wonderful time. In fact, most people were reluctant to leave since the Queen herself stayed on to mingle with her guests during the post-dinner reception.

It was a very well organised banquet, where the conversation flowed — because there was a very eclectic mix of people; not just the royals including the queen-in-waiting Camilla and Princess Anne, but also people from the world of art and literature, such as J.K. Rowling and Anish Kapoor. And of course, politicians such as the Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the leader of the opposition, David Cameron. Overall, instead of a large number of the random "usual suspects" there was a more select crowd, so that everyone could meet and actually talk. There is a high premium on conversation since it is an immensely difficult art, and there is nothing worse than being trapped with a boring dinner companion!

However, for a change I got lucky! I personally had a great evening since I was seated right next to the very charming and suave leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron who, many predict, will be Britain’s next Prime Minister. Mr Cameron turned out to be the ideal dinner companion — he was friendly, relaxed and totally at ease as we chatted away comfortably for nearly two hours. And of course, I found that very reassuring as we come from opposing ends of the political spectrum.

It was all the more surprising as after all, when one is billed as the next Prime Minister — the comfort level decreases rapidly. I remember sitting next to Rahul Gandhi, another aspiring Prime Minister, at a dinner a few years ago, and the conversation was nowhere as engrossing. Perhaps Mr Gandhi is still shy or he needs to develop (as Mr Cameron already has) some more confidence and panache. It should not matter who is seated next to him — as his personal charisma should be such that other people remember the evening. However, he was certainly better than some other Indian politicians who are usually so full of themselves that you can plunge face forward into your soup with sheer boredom.

Therefore, I was completely enchanted, to find in Mr Cameron someone who is interesting as well as happy to listen. I had imagined that he would be rather on his guard, and with elections barely six months away, be completely plugged into political debate.

However, we managed to cover a large number of subjects and even chatted about Indian cinema — which he confessed he had got a glimpse of because he has a Nepalese au pair looking after his children and one of her main conditions for joining the Cameron household was access to Indian cinema on television. So he was familiar with the familiar song and dance routine of Bollywood. Of course, I also recommended that he watches many more Indian films, — a future task that I do hope he is seriously considering.

Mr Cameron is also in the spotlight because he is trying to take some tough but necessary decisions. For example, some of the changes he is trying to bring to the Conservative Party are those I wish other parties would emulate: he is holding primaries (as in America) in which candidates are allowed to compete with each other to become the probable nominee for the Conservative Party. Debates are conducted, and the people of the constituencies (regardless of party affiliation) are allowed to vote for the most suitable candidate. Mr Cameron has now gone a step further and has put forward the idea of "women only shortlists" to push the number of women MPs upwards. As in India, male politicians in the UK are terrified of the prospect and are trying to block it. However, Mr Cameron is trying and one wishes him success. Even if he doesn’t succeed, it is obvious that it will focus more attention on the need to have more women in Parliament.

That is an idea that Mrs Patil should be familiar with — and appreciate.

After the State Banquet, the next day we saw her again at the Guildhall for dinner — where once more there was a marvellous demonstration of how much the British believe in tradition. So there were trumpeters, and elaborate rituals — accompanied by uniforms, tiaras and gowns galore.

And then we attended the "grand" finale of Mrs Patil’s visit — the launch of the Commonwealth Games — with the Queen’s Baton Rally starting from Buckingham Palace. While it was a wonderful location — one wishes a little more preparation had gone into the showcasing of India. But more importantly, it was a historic occasion given double the value with the presence of the titular heads of two countries.

Though some of the ceremonial performances preceding the baton rally had little connection with the games, the unexpected chanting of a Sanskrit shloka from the Rig Veda by young British school children was very relevant and touching. Hopefully the games in Delhi will reflect some of the hospitality which their launch has received here.

The writer can be contacted at kishwardesai@yahoo.com