Young painter gets the calling card

KOLKATA, APRIL 7. Only 13 and chasing a dream of studying in the USA, he believes he has virtually received his passport - the calling card of an impressed former U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton.

Clutching a portrait of Mr. Clinton, which he had painted, Somneel Saha was anxiously awaiting the moment for the last fortnight.

A class eight student of the Don Bosco School, Saha sat up till the wee hours of today to touch up the painting and camped in front of the Mother House, Clinton's first stop in the City, to have it autographed.

``My mother and I had been to the U.S. Consulate and the officials there had promised they would get the portrait autographed. But the securitymen were not letting me go anywhere near them,'' he said.

Not giving up, the boy sprinted the distance to Clinton's next stop Sishu Bhawan, a few paces away. Managing to dodge the security net he gesticulated and shouted for getting the attention of an Embassy official, who agreed to take the portrait to Mr. Clinton.

As if in answer to his prayers, Mr. Clinton sent word that the young painter should be presented to him.

``When he asked me what I wanted to do in life, I said I wanted to study in the USA. He gave me his card and asked me to E-mail him,`` an ecstatic Saha said after his brief encounter with the U.S. goodwill ambassador who praised his artistic skills.

Mr. Clinton autographed the portrait and also posed for a photo with the 13-year-old.

Saha, whose hobby is to paint eminent people and get them autographed, said the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr. Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, had assured him help in holding an exhibition of his portraits, which include those of cricketers Md. Azharuddin, Mr. Sachin Tendulkar, Mr. Sourav Ganguly as also the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee.

- PTI

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