Blair's man in Delhi does a Haroun

Britain's top diplomat in New Delhi captivated the families of a remote South Indian village when he stayed with them earlier this year.

Michael Arthur was the 53-year Englishman on leave from the UK Foreign Office who arrived in Iradegera village 500 kilometres north of Bangalore last July and stayed in the house of Balandandappa, Gundappa and their 14-year-old Devamma.

Like Haroun Al Rashid his identity remained a closely guarded secret. He slept on the ground, ate whatever was available and local families were not told until after he had left.

Now Arthur is back in India, only this time he is decked out in his full regalia as he waits to present his credentials as Britain's new High Commissioner to President A P J Abdul Kalam.

"We were worried whether he could eat our food, or whether he would be comfortable staying with us," says Balandandappa. "The first night we made a special bed for him on a charpoy (a string cot), while we made our arrangements to sleep on the roof of our house. We were surprised when he joined us on the roof, and slept like all of us. When you wake up and see someone sleeping like you, you realise they are not different."

Arthur's willingness to share the day-to-day experiences of the family without any fuss or pomp has been remarked upon by members of Samuha, a non-government organisation that specialises in village development, community-based rehabilitation of people with disabilities and watershed development. "My colleagues were very impressed," says T. Pradeep, director, Samuha, which hosted Arthur. "They say he is quite a Gandhian."

B. Hampanna, assistant director, disabilities, and head of Samarthya, the Samuha disability wing, was Arthur's translator during his visit.

He says "his interest in everything around him was so complete that it forced you out of yourself and made you look at things differently too.

"We were in Yermasal village where two of our self-help groups were meeting. They had just completed their foundational six months of savings, and were meeting to disburse their first loans.

"Two members had made applications for loans, one for Rs500 to buy seeds and fertilisers, and the other for Rs1,000 to buy a sheep.

"The whole process took about two hours. It was a very ordinary meeting, till Michael interpreted what he had seen: a group process that understood the importance of its decisions, that valued its members, that completed its business with the least fuss, and who were not fussed about the presence of visitors in the midst of what was potentially an embarrassing moment. Suddenly, the ordinary had become special."

After spending four days in Raichur, Arthur left for Hyderabad. A spokesperson for Samuha said, "He [Arthur] decided that he would understand this country and its people better if he was able to experience and share their lives without the intrusion of the pomp and the paraphernalia that would otherwise surround him in his new position."