If you visit the state capitol in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, from where Bobby Jindal has just made it to gubernatorial office as the first person of Indian origin to have done so, you come across information on many other “firsts”. Baton Rouge has seen the “first colonial governor”, “first American governor”, “first Confederate governor” and “first Black governor”.

Founded in 1720, Baton Rouge of today has a lot more to offer than Cajun curry. The day after we arrived, we had an appointment to meet the mayor-president of Baton Rouge. He made each member of our group an ‘honorary mayor’ of the city for a day and handed over the symbolic ‘key to the city’, with a citation. Now with Bobby Jindal making it to the top office, I realise the importance of being honorary mayor of Baton Rogue, even if it was only for a day!

So how did Baton Rouge get its name? French explorers, leading an expedition along the Mississippi River, sighted a red stick that was coloured with the blood of fish and animals and was fixed there to divide the Houmas Indians from the Bayougoula Indians. They named it ‘Le Baton Rouge’, or the red stick. The French influence is discernible in the architecture of Baton Rogue, and in the Cajun food, music and rituals. Cajuns were originally French — early settlers from Canada who were driven away by the British. Cajun Christmas, Festivals Acadiens and Mardi Gras are some of the very popular festive occasions celebrated here with a gaiety bordering on wildness. Christmas fireworks on the banks of the Mississippi are a local rage.

... contd.