Dressed in a brown cotton saree, Sonia took her oath in the name of truth immediately after Prime Minister A B Vajpayee took his. She didn't falter when she read out her oath but then, as could happen to any debutant, she forgot to sign the register. Over-eager Congress colleagues who had thumped the desks quickly drew her attention to the fact.

Her every movement, it seemed, was being watched. And lest she commit any faux pas, a conscious Sonia was being constantly tutored by Kamalnath on her left. Sitting immediately behind her was Girija Vyas who was whispering into her ears all the time. In fact, Congressmen appeared more nervous than Soniaherself.

Vajpayee went round greeting leaders sitting on the front rows and did a namaste to Sonia but no words were exchanged. So did Home Minister L K Advani. Sitting in the VIPs' gallery above were daughter Priyanka and son-in-law Robert Vadra. And so was Rahul Gandhi. Quite a few Congress worthies, M L Fotedar, V George and Ghulam Nabi Azad included, were there too.

Several members went up to her after swearing themselves in. The whole House seemed to be waiting for the moment when the other Gandhi daughter-in-law Maneka took her oath. But true to form, she avoided Sonia when she passed by. The two after all have not been on talking terms for a long time now.

And just when all the excitement centering around her dissipated with the House settling down to the laborious business of each member going up to take his oath, Sonia did a brisk exit with eager-beaver Kamalnath in tow.

The first day of the thirteenth Lok Sabha didn't give her an opportunity to prove her mettle. In fact, after all theexcitement over Sonia died down a sense of deja vu about the goings-on seemed to dominate. There have been elections in 1996, 1998 and now with new Lok Sabhas being constituted each time. The difference this time is that there are 267 members who were not members of the earlier Lok Sabha.

As usual, members took oath in their own tongues, bringing out the diversity of the country's languages. For several BJP members, the preference was Sanskrit. Some members provided colour in terms of their attire. If the Shiv Sena contingent came with their orange turbans tied in Maharashtrian style, members from Rajasthan didn't lag behind. The most colourful though was S K Bwismuthiary of the Bodo National Front who came dressed in the typical jacket worn by people in the North-East. He waved to all sides of the House after taking his oath at the end of which he exclaimed: ``Long live India, Long live Bodoland.''

Then there were the usual glitches. Minister of State Shahnawaz Hussain, the lone Muslim in the BJP camp,who was dressed in a natty achkan was so excited that he forgot to bring the certificate declaring him elected to the House. He couldn't take his oath when his name was called out. It was only later in the day that he swore himself in.

And then there was some family drama too. Minister of State Vasundhara Raje came over to elder brother Madhavrao Scindia to seek his blessings. So what if they are on the opposite sides of the political fence?

Sharad Pawar sitting next to Mulayam Singh Yadav was enjoying every bit of what was happening. Somehow members cutting across party lines made it a point to go up to him to greet him. No wonder, he had a wide grin pasted on his face throughout the day.