The last American President from Bush's Republican party to visit India was Richard Milhous Nixon in 1969. But while that journey was undertaken in an atmosphere of animosity -- between the two governments as well as between Nixon and then Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi -- the Bush visit comes on the crest of never seen before cordiality between the world's largest and richest democracies.

The much talked about nuclear deal is just one facet to the visit. There are other aspects to the cooperation between New Delhi and Washington, DC -- strategic, economic, technological and agricultural -- that are expected to be given a boost during the president's passage to India.

Rediff.com has invited many experts in India and the US to discuss the Bush visit on the Rediff Chat.

Siddharth Vardarajan, Deputy Editor of the Hindu, and Ambassador TP Sreenivasan have already taken part in these chats.

Others who will grace the Rediff Chat in coming days are:

Peter Wonacott,The Wall Street Journal's Senior Correspondent for South Asia, March 1, 10 am.

Communist Party of India National Secretary Doraiswamy Raja, Wednesday, March 1, 11.30 am . Mr Raja will discuss the Communists' opposition to the Bush visit.

Former ambassador to Washington, DC Naresh Chandra, Wednesday, March 1, 9.30 pm.

K Subrahamanyam, the doyen of Indian strategic experts and Rediff columnist, Friday, March 3, 5 pm.

Former ambassador to the US Lalit Mansingh, on whose watch the improvement in relations between India and the US took place, Friday, March 3, 7 pm.

Dr Sumit Ganguly, Tagore Professor of Indian Cultures and Civilizations at Indiana University and adviser to the Central Intelligence Agency, Friday March 3, 11 pm.

Strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellaney, Thursday, March 7, 4.30 pm.