Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to the US to meet President Donald Trump is turning out to be quite different from his previous trips to Washington.

Firstly, it’s going to be a “no frills business trip”, not a state visit. That means none of the pomp and trappings that he got when he went calling on former President Barack Obama.

But the biggest blow for Modi bhakts is that the PM has had to sacrifice his beloved trademark event, grand public show of strength for the Indian diaspora like he did at Madison Square Garden in New York on his first trip to the US.

This time, Modi’s team was planning one in Houston, Texas. The head of the BJP’s foreign cell, Vijay Chauthaiwale, has been in the US for some weeks now making all the arrangements.

Everything has been scrapped now. There appear to be several reasons for the decision to forgo the public rally. One is that the trip itself is a low-key one without the trappings of a state visit. It was decided that a huge jamboree in Houston would be out of place in this atmosphere.

The second reason that Modi’s aides were facing scheduling problems in Washington because of political confusion in the US. His programme in Washington was finalized only this week, just ten days before he arrives in the US capital.

The third reason is Trump’s recent outburst against India on the Paris Climate Change Accord. His suggestion that India squeezed “billions of dollars” from the US to sign the accord has not gone down well here and has clouded the euphoria of Modi’s first bilateral meeting with the newly elected US President.

It took a lot of effort by lobbyists to swing the meeting between Modi and Trump but the Indian side is unsure about the reception the PM will get at the White House.

The only silver lining in the cloud is that the Trump Administration has refused to host Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Washington so far. In the game of oneupmanship that marks India’s relationship with Pakistan, Modi has scored a big win over Sharif by managing a meeting with Trump within six months of the US President assuming office.

Giving Rahul the slip

Rahul Gandhi’s recent meeting with minority leaders of his Congress party raises questions about future power equations should the young man finally take over as president. Some senior well known minority leaders were missing from the meeting. For instance, Salman Khurshid and Ghulam Nabi Azad were not present. Nor was Oscar Fernandes who has long been regarded as a voice of the Christian community in the Congress. So what gives? No-one in the party knows why these regulars were absent.

Another interesting development in the meeting was the role of Shakeel Ahmed. He was entrusted with the task of pulling out slips from a basket to decide the speakers. It turned out that the first few speakers were all persons considered close to Ahmed. Someone obviously tipped Rahul off because suddenly he asked Ahmed to hand over the basket with slips.

After that, Rahul himself picked out slips and called speakers to the dais.

In Mansingh race

Now that the NDMC has decided to put up the Taj Hotel on Mansingh Road for re-auction, there’s a flurry of excitement in the corporate world. It seems a top industrialist has decided to make a bid for the plot. The power and wealth of the industrialist are so well known that reports suggest the Tatas, who own the Taj Group of Hotels, have decided not to rebid for their landmark hotel in Delhi.

They are preparing to withdraw from the race to reclaim the plot on which the Taj Mansingh stands. It seems this industrial house has been wanting to enter the hospitality business for a long time.

It tried to buy the Leela Hotel in Mumbai. When that didn’t work out, it made a bid for the Claridges hotel in Delhi. That too fell through. Now all eyes are on the auction for the Taj Mansingh.

But there’s another question. Is the industrialist wanting to bid for the plot because of the hotel? Or is he planning to demolish the hotel and build himself a grand residence in the coveted Lutyens’ bungalow zone?

Rishikesh ashram

The dilapidated ashram in Rishikesh that once housed Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, better known for his association with the iconic English rock group The Beatles, had an unusual visitor recently. Top diplomats from the British High Commission in New Delhi landed up to make inquiries about celebrating the 50th anniversary of the famous visit to the ashram by The Beatles.

The rock band visited the Maharishi’s ashram in February 1968 and stayed there for around seven weeks. The band composed some of its most famous songs while in Rishikesh.

It seems a Liverpool-based group called The Beatles Story is keen on marking the golden jubilee of that historic visit to Rishikesh which is why British diplomats went to the site of the ashram. Of course, the ashram closed down many decades ago. The Maharishi himself is dead.

So are two members of The Beatles. But their fame lives on in Rishikesh which was overwhelmed by the presence of such famous people in this sleepy town on the banks of the Ganges. The ashram had fallen to rack and ruin because of neglect. But the efforts and interest of a dedicated forest ranger named Raju Nautiyal are slowly reviving the place. Nautiyal has had the area cleaned up and reopened for visitors. In the past two years, the ashram has proved to be a huge draw for foreign tourists who throng to Rishikesh to retrace the steps of The Beatles.

In fact, the ashram, known as Chaurasi Kutiya, is proving to be quite a money spinner for the Rajaji National Park where it is located.

And this is when there is little or no publicity for it. Nor is it on any tourist circuit. Imagine if the golden jubilee of that historic visit by The Beatles is actually celebrated there. Chaurasi Kutiya could become a major tourist draw in India.