Laura Lines Up With Bhoombah and Chamki on Sesame Street

After the pomp and circumstance of the official morning reception, recalling the imperial splendor of the British Raj, America's first lady, Laura Bush, went to see how the US is today influencing India: visiting the set of Sesame Street.

A former librarian with a long-standing interest in education, Mrs. Bush discreetly broke away from her husband's security detail to talk to a seven foot purple puppet and a shaggy lion called Bhoombah.

The program, called Galli Galli Sim Sim, is India's take on Sesame Street, and Mrs. Bush will appear in a future episode - which will reach 40m households.

Set in a middle-class neighborhood of India, Mrs. Bush played herself meeting a social activist Nafisa Ali in a cybercafe. The pair then chatted with a inquisitive puppet called Chamki, who sat on a swing. Mrs. Bush spoke in English and her words were translated in Hindi by Mrs. Ali.

Later Mrs. Bush visited a charity dealing with abandoned boys and girls and handled questions with aplomb on sexual abuse and gender discrimination from street children.

Her husband's trip to India has tended to be analyzed in portentous tones. The security arrangements, however, have thrown up some lighter, even bizarre, stories.

The Times of India ran a piece yesterday headlined "Guarding Bush is monkey business", which claimed that a chimpanzee dressed in army fatigues is part of the security detail. His role, apparently, is to detect landmines.

Other newspapers have reported that the guard dogs used by the President Bush have all been given deluxe suites to stay in at the president's hotel. The canine unit is staffed by German shepherds and Labradors that only respond to their military ranks.