Hillary Clinton, who visited India from Feb. 24-26, spent a leisurely Feb. 24 afternoon picking up clothes at an upmarket shopping complex in New Delhi.

Dropping in at designer Vijaylakshmi Dogra’s outlet in the Santushti complex in the capital, Sen. Clinton was accompanied by New York Hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal, Chatwal’s wife Daman Chatwal, their soon-to-be daughter-in-law Priya Sachdev and Sen. Clinton’s senior advisor Huma Abedin, reports said.

Dogra was quoted as saying that at her outlet, ‘Tex Indus,’ Sen. Clinton completely stole the heart of the staff with her “polite and polished” manner. The senator also commented on how wonderful it was to be in India once again and how she was looking forward to spending the next few days here, she added.

Spending about 45 minutes at the outlet, she picked up two quilted short silk reversible jackets in turquoise and fuchsia. “While the turquoise jacket had a brocade motif at the back, the fuchsia one had tissue applique all over,” Dogra was quoted as saying. “The Senator loved the Indian colors and workmanship that had gone into the clothes,” she added.

The designer said they attached zippers to both jackets and made a new crinkled skirt

in shades of blue to complete the outfit. Though Sen. Hillary also asked for shoulder pads, since the jackets were reversible, we attached the pads to the camisole, Dogra said. “The Senator’s associates did ask for a discount, but she just smiled. Since we were on sale anyway, Sen. Clinton was entitled to a 10 percent discount,” Dogra said.

According to the reports, Sen. Clinton bought a “white shirt made of Indian fabric” for her husband and former president Bill Clinton. She also picked up a birthday present for their daughter Chelsea, who celebrated the day on Feb. 27 –– a pink jacket, according to Dogra.

Recalling the visit by the former first lady, the designer was quoted as saying: “It was a lazy afternoon. Business was quiet when I saw the Chatwals. Just as Priya greeted me, I saw with her the former first lady. I could not believe my eyes. They first visited my art gallery before coming into my designer store.”

Sen. Clinton also displayed her love for Indian cuisine during the visit.

Accompanied by the Chatwals, she went to the famous Bukhara restaurant in Maurya Sheraton –– a favorite with Bill Clinton as well –– for a three-hour dinner at which she ordered tandoori aloo, prawns and paneer, murg malai tikka, naan bukhara and the sweet dish firni, the reports said.

At another dinner, at the Taj Palace Hotel, she ate grilled lobster, bhuna gosht, tawa murg khatta pyaz and pulao. For dessert, there were apple jalebis, kala jamun cups with motichoor and shahi tukda, the reports added.

(Compiled from news dispatches by Nishant Arora)

IMAGES
From left, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani; Pratibha Pawar, wife of Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar; Sen. Hillary Clinton; Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel; Pawar and New York hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal, at Pawar’s residence in New Delhi on Feb. 25.(Photo: Mohammed Jaffer/SnapsIndia)
Steel tycoon Laxmi N. Mittal with Clinton at the Taj Palace Hotel. (Photo: Mohammed Jaffer/SnapsIndia)	From left, filmstar Amitabh Bachchan, Chatwal and Clinton at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi on Feb. 25. (Photo: Mohammed Jaffer/SnapsIndia)
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram having a word with Clinton at the Taj Palace Hotel. (Photo: Mohammed Jaffer/SnapsIndia)	Clinton at the dinner reception hosted by Pawar. Seen in the photo are, from left foreground, Mittal, Pawar, Clinton, and Chatwal. Seated across the table are, from left, Shobhana Bhartiya, vice chairman, The Hindustan Times Group, Commerce and Industries Minister Kamal Nath, National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan, and Ambani. (Photo: Mohammed Jaffer/SnapsIndia)