Devisingh Shekhawat

New Delhi, Aug. 9: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has left but a part of his legacy lives on at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

His herbal garden, to start with, has found a new “protector” in First Gentleman Devisingh Shekhawat, a botanist.

“He is extremely interested in the gardens of Rashtrapati Bhavan, especially the herbal gardens,” an official said.

Shekhawat seems less happy with the security forced on him, and the President herself — new to the elaborate protocol that comes with the job — seems to be trying hard to be accessible.

Kalam, who had thrown Rashtrapati Bhavan’s doors open and made it a “People’s Bhavan”, should be a tough act to follow but Pratibha tai is carrying on the tradition.

“It’s still a people’s place: she is accessible,” the official said.

“A group of people from her village in Maharashtra, who were in town, decided to just drop in. She met them.”

While Kalam had his cosy chats with students, Patil’s field of interest is the empowerment of women.

The first woman President has been in touch with women’s groups, now meeting state women’s commission officials, now asking the Confederation of Rural NGOs to work for the uplift of village women.

Her husband has had a little more difficulty fitting in. Shekhawat appears slightly uncomfortable with constant protection, but officials insist that it is part of protocol.

“We’ve looked up the blue book. He is entitled to a separate saloon car on a train. He is not using this at the moment and insists on travelling by the usual air-conditioned first-class,” the official said.

Preferring to stick to his image of an ordinary man, Shekhawat chose not to stay in Raj Bhavan during his Maharashtra trip.

“Protocol demands that as the spouse of the President, he is treated as a state guest,” the official said.

“But he stayed with his son. Rashtrapati Bhavan, however, had to ensure that all the conventions were followed.”