Trump's India visit: Is the euphoria worth it?

Jane Kahan Gaye Voh Din? Recently there was an interesting piece about the visit of 34th American President Dwight D Eisenhower in 1959 along with the first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The kind of euphoria that we are witnessing over the visit of 45th President of America Donald Trump never used to be there.

At that time, Eisenhower and Nehru went to see Taj Mahal in an open car and private photographers could happily click those photographs. The security was bare minimum. Children with flags on roads lined up to welcome the guest.

There used to be sprucing up but not on a scale that is being witnessed these days. Those were the days where leaders used to mingle with common man but now when the US president travels, the world stands still. They fly by Air Force One.

Streets would be blocked, and their motorcade would glide through the streets of New Delhi, Agra and Ahmedabad. There is a saying in the UK that everything smells like fresh paint to the Queen because wherever she goes, things are done up. Here the US presidents are treated like royalty.

The entire administration in New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat have gone into NaMo-Trump mode. They are leaving no stone unturned to put a mask on the poverty in India and showcase the country as one of the most beautiful ones.

Huge walls have been built in Ahmedabad along the route though which Trump's convoy would zoom past from airport to the city. This even led to jokes on social media saying that China must be having massive poverty since they constructed 'the great wall of China'. The government of India is spending Rs 100 crore for Trump's visit.

For making Ahmedabad a clean and beautiful city, Rs 6 crore has already been spent which is said to be 1.5 percent of the state budget. New Delhi, Agra and Ahmedabad are virtually under the seize of secret service officers who are wading through the grass, checking for bombs and assassins.

There will be nine motorcycle riders' team and a convoy of about ten cars including the secret service team. The car in which Trump would be moving around is known as 'Beast' and is all proof. Even chemical weapons cannot cause damage and it has a blood bank, weapons and oxygen tank. The tyres also cannot get damaged and is equipped with night vision camera.

While that is one side of the story, the first visit of Trump to India has an interesting angle as well. Trump has longstanding business relationship with India. It is said that Trump has biggest portfolio of real estate business outside North America. Trump Towers are there in Pune, Mumbai and Gurugram as well.

The latest one is coming up in Kolkata. However, these projects are not in good health and the companies which entered into partnership are in debts. What exactly can the country expect from the visit of Trump? According to the US President, "We are going to India, and we may make a tremendous deal there, or maybe we'll slow it down. We'll do it after the election. I think that could happen too.

So we'll see what happens." He also said that they were making deals only they were good since he puts America first. This is something which our leaders too should perhaps follow. Put India first wherever you go. They should develop the courage to say so and not try to be diplomatic and read out the script written by the officials which conveys nothing.

Now that it is the era of tweets and Trump is famous for tweeting constantly, it remains to be seen how NaMo would respond to the tweets of Trump during his 36 hour stay in India.