The Hindu : Front Page : Sarkozy visits Taj minus Carla

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Sunday, Jan 27, 2008
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Sarkozy visits Taj minus Carla

Smriti Kak Ramachandran

AGRA: In the end she didn’t. Italian model-turned-singer Carla Bruni ended weeks of media speculation on Saturday when she did not join her beau, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, during his brief visit to the Taj Mahal.

Making a solo visit to the 17th Century monument of love, the French President wrote in the guest’s register: “See you again” in French.

Mr. Sarkozy who arrived in Agra by a special flight was taken to the Taj under heavy security.

Accompanied by an entourage that included French government officials and the media, Mr. Sarkozy spent close to 30 minutes inside the Taj.

He got the customary picture clicked seated on the carved stone bench popularly known as the “Diana bench,” after the late British Princess who came for a visit unescorted by her then husband Prince Charles in 1992.

Describing the visit as “unforgettable,” Mr. Sarkozy walked around the mausoleum and was told about the monument’s history.

“He did not ask many questions...he just heard what we had to say. He walked around and clicked pictures, but he seemed melancholic,” said Kamlesh Diwedi, the guide who showed Mr. Sarkozy around, referring to the absence of Carla Bruni.

And as the state guests spent time inside the Taj precincts, visitors were kept out and the area around the Taj was sanitised. Shops around the monument were closed and the Taj itself was declared off limits for visitors till the entourage left for Delhi.

“There is heavy deployment of police and CISF personnel. Policemen and women in plainclothes and uniform have been deployed. And since the visit has coincided with Republic Day celebrations, more precautions are being taken to avoid any untoward incident,” said a senior police officer.

A few hundred metres away from the Taj, where the tourists were kept for the duration of the VVIP visit, the moods varied from curiosity to anxiety and even downright anger.

“My guest has come from Delhi and has a midnight flight to catch to Poland. Since we have come here, we cannot leave without seeing the Taj, but we cannot afford not getting back in time either,” said Rajesh Kumar, a tour in-charge accompanying a Polish national.

But for local resident and guide Raj, the Sarkozy visit gave him an opportunity to display his newly acquired French language skills. Raj was seen wooing visitors in a smattering of French, hoping it would help him earn an extra buck.

“I have been learning French for some time and today I hope to catch the eye of some French officials…who knows what opportunity waits me,” he said optimistically.

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