Washington, Sept. 18 - The First Lady wore leopard print. The Secretary of State wished she could have worn a sari. And Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was treated to what was called the most lavish state banquet in eight years of the Clinton administration, the Washington Post reported Monday.

Vajpayee, 75, a poet, never-married bachelor and self-made man, even got the classical music he requested. The Chamber Music Society of New York's Lincoln Center played excerpts from "Don Giovanni" at Saturday's White House event, the report said.

The 700 guests included actress Goldie Hawn, model Christie Brinkley and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.

During the four-day state visit, Vajpayee and U.S. President Bill Clinton cemented the beginning of a new era in ties between the two countries. India gained U.S. attention in 1998 with its first nuclear detonation, and Clinton visited India earlier this year.

The leaders of the world's largest democracies agreed on nuclear nonproliferation, dedicated a statue to Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi - an advocate of nonviolence - and said they would cooperate in fighting international terrorism and AIDS.

In remarks at the banquet, Vajpayee speculated on what would have happened if Christopher Columbus had made it to the Asian subcontinent.

"I wonder where we would be if he had actually reached India," the prime minister was quoted as saying.

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