Kolkata:
From the legendary Rabindranath Tagore to Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee discussed the state's 'brand ambassadors' then and now when they met in Kolkata on Monday.
Ms Banerjee presented Mrs Clinton with Nobel laureate Tagore's books <i>Gitanjali</i> and <i>Gitabitan</i>. Mrs Clinton, who had earlier said that she had "discovered Tagore in college and have been a fan ever since", reciprocated by presenting Ms Banerjee a scarf with a famous Tagore song inscribed on it.
Briefing mediapersons about the nearly hour-long meeting with the US Secretary of State, Ms Banerjee said she informed her about Tagore's birth anniversary on Tuesday. "She told me she was aware of it and would love to read Rabindranath Tagore. I told her that I will be giving her books of Tagore as gifts."
"She has also given me a small scarf which had a picture of Rabindranath and a line from his song 'Aguner Poroshmoni Choyao Prane'. We are very happy," said Ms Banerjee.
The chief minister said she told Mrs Clinton about Swami Vivekananda's 150th birth anniversary and sought her cooperation to organise a World Youth Festival.
"We have decided to create a programme on the lines of Swamiji's famous address to a convention at Chicago. Madam Hillary told me she will talk to the mayor of Chicago. I have requested her to see if both of us (Bengal and US) can work together to commemorate Swamiji's birth anniversary."
Ms Banerjee and Mrs Clinton also spoke about Shah Rukh Khan's popularity in the US. "We also had a conversation over the entertainment industry. I proposed cooperation between Hollywood, Bollywood and Tollywood (Bengali film industry) for bettering the lot of the entertainment industry. She liked the idea." said Ms Banerjee.
"She said movies of Shah Rukh are also quite popular," Ms Banerjee said.
When she said that Shah Rukh Khan was the brand ambassador of West Bengal, Mrs Clinton said the matinee idol was quite popular in the her country and had fan clubs in the US.