Chatterbox: Frugal time at Rashtrapati Bhavan

Chefs in the Rashtrapati Bhavan have little to do. President Ram Nath Kovind is a frugal eater and a pure vegetarian, who likes his food with low oil and a little salt. His predecessor, Pranab Mukherjee, never used the chefs. He had his own cook, Padam, who knew exactly what to cook for him. Mukherjee liked his chapatis rolled very small and was vegetarian six months of the year and non-vegetarian the other six. During his non-vegetarian period, he would never eat chicken or mutton — only fish, in small morsels. By the time he became president, he had stopped eating sweets, ending his meals with fruit. His last meal at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, which he shared with three friends, consisted of aloo posto (potato in poppy seed gravy), begun bhaja (fried brinjals), dal, baked fish and fruit.

Strange questions, curt answers

Much has been made of Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi’s lapse in referring to Indira Canteens as Amma Canteens while talking to journalists. But they also ask strange questions, sometimes. When Manmohan Singh was prime minister and he went to Assam, a journalist, unmindful that the world was going through a recession and Indian industry was trying to keep its head above water, asked him: “… and what are you going to do about the rhino?” Gandhi was in Bhatta Parsaul, grappling with the issue of farmers, whose land had been acquired without adequate compensation. One reporter asked him: “Which is your favourite film?” Gandhi didn’t answer. Another asked him: “What’s your favourite animal?” He scowled, stared at the reporter and said, “Dolphin.” She wasn’t expecting that answer!