BUSH-SINGH 2

Quoting Martin Luther King, Bush said the legendary civil
rights activist had said that others might be visiting India
for tourism, but he would visit India as a pilgrim.
"We come here not only as pilgrims but also as admirer
and above all friends," the former US President said, while
expressing confidence that Indo-US relations would be closer
in the future.
Looking back, he said, "As Governor of Texas, I came to
know about the changes in India. When I became the President,
India was a priority... I had said the 21st century will see
India as an emerging country and the US must take notice."
During the interaction, he punctuated the serious issues
like military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan and his
anti-Muslim image with jokes, prompting intermittent peals of
laughter.
"I have retired, I am an old retired guy," said Bush,
whose two-term tenure of four years each ended in January.
On how he was spending time now, he said he was writing
a book and delivering speeches for which "I get paid".
He promptly added, "thankfully for you, I don't get paid
by the word", in a message to the hosts.
Cracking a joke on himself, he said "people said I
couldn't even read a book, much less write one."
His book, he said, will hopefully be out "next fall"
(autumn next year). It will be an anecdotal account of his
tenure and will "place you in my place", he said. MORE PTI