Washington: Set to embark on his maiden official visit to India next week, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says it was a "great gift" for him to have lived in New Delhi for five years during his childhood, where he learnt to play cricket.
"It was a great gift to me and a great gift to any
American...to be exposed to India at an early stage," Geithner
told a group of Indian reporters here.
Geithner lived in India from 1968-1973 when his father
was the Deputy Resident Representative for the Ford foundation
in New Delhi.
"I went to AIS (American International School), from
second to sixth grade. I lived in Friends Colony," Geithner
said.
"I grew up with my parents friends who were people
involved in development at a time when it was a great era of
optimism and development," he said, vividly recollecting his
life in New Delhi.
The Treasury Secretary said "as a young child I was
able to see how much of India lives to not just in extreme
poverty but in a country with India`s great opened dynamism
tradition is a great gift for an American."
"To watch and see how the impact America had on the
world for good and sometimes not so good is a great gift to
have as a young kid," he said.
Geithner says it is in New Delhi that he learnt to
play cricket and baseball.
"I was lucky, I learnt not just to play cricket but I
learnt to play baseball," he said. He added that he no longer
plays cricket.
After he left India in 1973, Geithner had been to
India four times all on official or business trip.
"I have not spent very much time there and I have not
travelled extensively since then," he said.
PTI
