In his heyday Laloo was a splendid entertainer. Spontaneous, irrepressible, unpredictable. With the late Ayub Syed and Kuldip Nayar I took lunch with him at the India International Centre a couple of years ago. He made a grand entrance and while the IIC regulars looked at him as if he were a Chinese panda, the waiters fell all over him. There was a minor riot to decide who would serve us. As the chief minister studied the menu, I made bold to suggest that the vegetarian thali was worth a try. "Vegetarian thali." he gowled. Fortunately, Ayub intervened and soon grilled chicken and roast leg of lamb started arriving. Laloo only had a, bit of the chicken while concentrating on the roast lamb with mint sauce. He relished the food, especially the mint sauce whose recipe he took for his wife, and told us many bitchy anecdotes.