Where Rooms Don't End

But it was different with the Indian heads of state. The very first Indian to make his home there, C. Rajagopalachari, spread his bedding as far away from the plush, teak-panelled residential quarters in the northwest wing as he could. The eleven Presidents after him followed the tradition: living in the more modest set of rooms in the southwest wing, and reserving the suites meant for the Viceroy and the Vicereine for visiting state guests. But the uneasiness sometimes rose to acute discomfiture with at least one President proposing that he move out from the palace on Raisina Hill to a dwelling more appropriate for the head of a socialist republic.

And this despite the many attempts to republicanise Lutyens’ palace. The chandeliered State Ball Room, for instance, renamed as Ashoka Hall, served very well for swearings-in and other ceremonial functions, with the national anthem playing from the loft where the orchestra once played for dancers. The very English Mughal Gardens were thrown open to the public in February-March every year. The Durbar Hall became the venue for a public exhibition in 1948 of rare artefacts that stayed there almost three years till the National Museum was built. Folk artists, farmers, children, cricketers, ordinary citizens were invited in sometimes to lighten its solitary dignity.

But real success in turning the Viceroy’s House into the people’s palace has really come with our 11th President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. With singular energy, he has put the palace that Lutyens built to optimum use. And threw it open to Indians who had only seen it from afar: children from municipal schools, visually handicapped, farmers, the poor. Anyone, in short, who asks is given a guided tour, starting with a virtual tour in the reception area accompanied sometimes with a free cup of tea. With its new attractions such as the science museum, biodiversity park, kitchen museum and five new gardens with musical fountains, it’s hardly surprising that the Rashtrapati Bhavan has turned in the last few years into Delhi’s hottest tourist destination. This picture book, with its historical nuggets, is a useful guide and memento for tourists. And it’s for a good cause, too: the proceeds will go towards helping the disabled staff of Rashtrapati Bhavan.