Laloo's earthy humour was in full flow by the time he reached Islamabad. When he went shopping in the Pakistani capital, shopkeepers offered him free gifts. When a cloth merchant gave him cloth from Faislabad, the irrepressible Yadav quipped, "Give it fast," eliciting laughter all around.

He greets the welcoming party with a namaste at the Islamabad International Airport while Pakistani MP Kushmala Tariq looks on.

Photograph: AFP/Getty Images