A kurta for Clinton, a corset for Chelsea

On Saturday morning, the excitement was palpable at Hansiba Creations, an outlet of hand-crafted knick-knacks on Nepean Sea Road. Hillary Clinton, who has been a keen supporter of the Ahmedabad-based organisation Sewa (Self-Employed Women’s Association), whose products are stocked by Hansiba, was to visit the store.

At noon, shortly after a press conference at the Taj, Clinton walked into Hansiba to shop. She was overheard greeting Sewa president Ramilaben warmly before picking up things worth Rs20,000 during an hour's shopping spree.

Tucked away in one of the bylanes of Nepean Sea Road, Hansiba is a shop that is easily missed. But the minute Clinton stepped out of her car, the nearby streets filled with curious onlookers.

Inside the store, 25 women — who had arrived from Gujarat on Friday, just for Clinton's visit — were all awaiting their turn to talk to the former first lady of the US. Dressed in traditional attire, they welcomed her with plates piled high with pistachio, raisins, walnuts, and samosas. One of the women, Gauriben, had even brought along a gift for Clinton: an 80-year-old toran, a garland made of cloth, that Gauri's mother had given her for her wedding. A collage of photographs taken during Clinton's last visit was presented by the other members.

According to Sewa members, Clinton purchased a kurta in bright red, clearly her favourite colour, a yellow-and-green quilt, a Varraq collection scarf made from locally produced fabric, and a bright red corset-top for daughter Chelsea.

"She liked the green kurta, but later settled for the red one," said Mona Dave, vice-president of Sewa. "We had used mehndi as a dye to colour the kurta green, but she preferred one with a more natural colour."

The members said they wanted to gift Chelsea an embroidered jacket, but Clinton chose the corset-top instead. She didn't buy any accessories from the store, though. Also, while most tourists love to pick up a traditional, seven-yard saree from the store, Clinton declined, saying she wouldn't be able to manage one.

Clinton's ties with Sewa go back to 1995 when she visited an outlet of the association in Ahmedabad with her husband, then president Bill Clinton, and Chelsea. She met Bhatt and Reema Nanavaty of Sewa and made several visits to the NGO's offices in Ahmedabad and Mumbai. A couple of years ago, Clinton presented Bhatt with an award for labour rights in Washington.

On Saturday, Hillary also interacted with Sewa members and updated herself on the progress made by the Global Women's Trade Finance Council, with which Sewa has a tieup. She promised members that she would discuss their work at the Clinton Global Initiative and the UN General Assembly. While at the store, Clinton also signed a piece of cloth that Sewa members plan to embroider and later present to her. "We might make a scarf out of it," one of the women said.