Goat Rope

HTemp:  36c

Rain:       0.8cm

`-$:         44.50

We learned a new term yesterday, hearing it a couple of times from different people involved in the Secretary's visit.  Let's just say they were accurately describing the day's events and using "goat rope" as a substitute for more colorful language.  Full definition at the end of the post.

The Secretary touched down in Chennai on Wednesday afternoon and was whisked by carefully planned motorcade to the Anna Centenary Library for a policy speech about the relationship between the U.S. and India. From there, she met with the chief minister of Tamil Nadu; checked on an effort to equip needy women with clean cook stoves and visited a microcredit lending organization that aids poor working women.  She ended the day under a sacred Banyan tree at the Kalakshetra Foundation, where she was treated to a traditional Tamil Nadu dance performance.  She was outfitted with an Indian lei and a traditional bindi forehead decoration.

It took dozens of Foreign Service Officers to pull off the big day -- reinforcements from other posts around India, including Kolkata, Hyderabad, and New Delhi, were drafted. And that's not including the security officials and the secretary's own advance team and entourage.  Some details: 

The big speech was delivered in the large, new Chennai library auditorium -- one of the first events ever held in the room.  All suited up for the big event:  James as usher; Sarah as press wrangler (see below for the local media's review of the press wrangling).

The eager audience, comprised of students, VIPs and some famous folks from the world of entertainment. Sarah in action.

More students showed up than expected and some had to use an overflow area to watch Secretary Clinton on a monitor.  The students who look distracted are watching the speech on a different monitor.  Hillary as Lite-Brite art.

The super-famous Tamil singer Chinmayee.  Click to enlarge the article to read a review of the media wrangling. Written in typical Indian newspaper style of half news, half page six prose.  Even the Secretary commented on the Indian press during her speech, calling it "so exciting to read - I never know what I'm going to find when I turn the page of one of your newspapers, and I'm always both delighted and surprised."  

So how do you define Goat Rope?  Click here for all the details.

Meanwhile, if you're not already doing so, please click photos in all the blog posts to enlarge them for full effect.