President Droupadi Murmu on Monday visited Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's ancestral residence here and paid homage to the freedom fighter. Murmu, who is on a two-day trip to West Bengal, went around 'Netaji Bhawan', now a memorial and was briefed by Netaji's grandnephew Sumantra Bose about the significance of the historical building which is a witness to several incidents of the country's freedom struggle.
Accompanied by Governor CV Ananda Bose, Murmu first was briefed about the historical car -- 'The 1937 Wanderer W24', in which Netaji had 'escaped' from his residence on January 16, 1941.
The president went to Netaji's study, his bedroom and 'The Great Escape staircase' which Netaji had used to come downstairs where his nephew Sisir Bose had parked the Wanderer for him to escape.
After around a 10-minute stay at Netaji Bhawan, Murmu left for a brief visit to Rabindranath Tagore's residence at Jorasanko Thakurbari in the central part of the city.
Earlier, the President was received by Bose, and state ministers Firhad Hakim and Sujit Bose. She was accorded a guard of honour at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here by the defence forces.
Security arrangements in the city were beefed up for Murmu's maiden visit to the state after becoming the President. From the airport, she came by helicopter to the Royal Calcutta Turf Club ground, where she was received by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Later in the evening, Murmu will be felicitated by the West Bengal government at a programme at the Netaji Indoor Stadium where the governor and the chief minister will be present. The President is scheduled to attend a UCO Bank programme here on Tuesday to celebrate 80 years of completion of the public sector bank after paying a visit to the Belur Math, the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission.
Murmu is also likely to go to Santiniketan in Birbhum district to grace the annual convocation of Visva-Bharati, a central university.
