I was looking forward to the next installment of the Obama in India saga, and no newspapers arrived today.
They did not publish overnight because of the Divali holiday.
I must say that I was a little peeved, especially because the Oakland Press still publishes on the Christmas holiday -- and every other day of the year. Seemed a bit lax.
Well, any coverage that would have been printed in today's newspapers would have been the preview. Obama is to arrive in India on the 6th, the day after the big Divali night. However, there are reports that celebrations in Mumbai were muted by the thousands of US and India Security personnel deployed to secure the American president's safety.
What a nightmare job for them, trying to uncover any suspicious activitiy in a city of 14 million residents -- many of whom are spending the night lighting off an endless string of "crackers."
I spend the night in the relative calm of Nagpur, a city of 2.5 million, and the explosions went on until well into the morning. Just a walk on the street around our neighborhood gave us a display that rivaled any I have seen in American Fourth of July festivities.
I wonder if the Obama security crew took all this explosive festivity into account when they arranged the visit?