At home with the President

The President’s ‘At Home’ at the Rashtrapati Bhavan — her last in this term — opened to a glorious day, with early tulips pushing out of the earth and flowering orange trees scenting the air. But, quite unusually, dignitaries were penned in according to their standing and rank. There was a separate pen for diplomats, another one for the Supreme Court judges, and one for ministers. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was seen sitting huddled on a chair in one corner of the pen. When asked if he was going to walk about, he laughed, “There is no requirement for it.” Of course, there isn’t: Is he going to be the one sitting in the chair occupied by Pratibha Patil at this time next year?