General Pervez Musharraf was visiting India. A visit by the President of Pakistan is always a significant event, and there was the usual hubbub in diplomatic circles, as also in the Press. Among his appointments was a call on President Kalam.

I went to Kalam a day before his visit. “Sir, General Musharraf is calling on you tomorrow,” I said.

“Yes I know,” he replied and waited, wondering what I was about to say.

“Certainly, sir, he will raise the Kashmir issue with you. You have to be prepared for this,” I concluded.

Kalam paused for a moment, looked at me, smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I shall deal with it.” His confidence was reassuring, yet I left his room wondering how he would deal with an issue which could nettle the best diplomats, and had derailed one famous summit meeting, the one at Agra, besides being at the heart of several conflicts with that country.

The evening came, after an eventful day in which a cricket match between the Pakistani and Indian cricket teams was the highlight. The General’s remark about the hair of star batsman Dhoni added colour to the news reports.

7.30 pm. General Musharraf arrived in a cavalcade of cars and was led to North Drawing Room on the first floor of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Kalam received him in state, ushered him to his seat and sat next to him. The Indian and Pakistani officials occupied their appointed places. The call began, slated for 30 minutes.

Diplomatic Kargil: With Gen. Musharraf and his wife

Smiles on both sides; pleasantries exchanged. And Kalam began. “Mr President, like India you also have a lot of rural areas and don’t you think we should both do whatever is possible to develop them on a priority basis?”

What could General Musharraf say but “Yes”?

And then Kalam really began. “Mr President, I will tell you something about PURA very briefly. PURA means Providing Urban Facilities in Rural Areas.” The plasma screen came alive and the description of what PURA was and what it could achieve lasted a ‘brief’ 26 minutes. General Musharraf evinced keen interest and when it was over, smiled and said, “Thank you, Mr President. India is lucky to have a scientist President like you.” Handshakes followed and adieu.

Scientists can be diplomats too.

****

First Lady, please

Kalam’s moving into Rashtrapati Bhavan had its sidelights. The more so, perhaps, because he was a bachelor!

I received a letter from a lady (whose name I will not reveal) in Patna which read as follows:

Subject : I offer myself for the post of official hostess (1st Lady) of Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Most Respected Sir,

I am ready to offer myself as an official hostess of Rashtrapati Bhawan. I am fifty years of age with pleasing personality.

I have done my Master’s Degree from Patna University.

My favourite subject is home science. I believe in hospitality i.e. welcome and kindness to visitors in much better way.

Herewith I am sending my photograph for your kind perusal. I have taken consent of my husband Prof. -------, who is a free minded social being. He always wants to give help to persons in need. We are only two persons in the house.

Therefore, please give me a chance to serve you all and oblige.

I did not know what she meant by saying that her husband was a “free minded social being.”

Kalam didn’t need a First Lady. He was a superb host in his own inimitable way. Hundreds of banquets and social gatherings went by without anyone feeling the absence of a First Lady. Kalam was all that mattered.

****

The general election of 2004 yielded a mixed result… The results were out but no single party had a majority. The nation waited. I think it was four days later that Kalam called me to ask his favourite question, “What do we do?”

Musical Allure: Kalam playing the veena

I had already thought of this and held detailed consultations with Barun Mitra, who, though in the IAS, knew the law and the niceties of constitutional law as well as any lawyer. “Sir,” I said, “As the President of India, you have to satisfy yourself that there is a party or a coalition of parties that can form a stable government in your view. And then, you have to invite the leader of that party or the coalition of parties to form the government.”

****

The Sonia letter

I drafted the letter and he signed it on May 17, 2004 — only a letter inviting Sonia Gandhi to Rashtrapati Bhavan the same day.

I further told the President, “Sir… I shall be in the ADC’s room (which is adjacent to the study) with the letter to be signed by you, appointing Smt. Sonia Gandhi the Prime Minister of India. Please sign it, shake hands with her and congratulate her. You should also ask when she would like to be sworn in.”

“Okay,” he said. The letter inviting Sonia Gandhi for discussions was dispatched.

The appointed hour came. Sonia Gandhi arrived with Dr Manmohan Singh. I waited in the ADC’s room, alert for the bell, armed with the letter (yet to be signed) from the President appointing her the Prime Minister of India. Minutes ticked by. The bell rang. I hurried out with the papers — only to see Sonia Gandhi and Dr Singh leaving.

I ran into the study. There he was and as soon as he saw me, he said, “Mr Nair, you told me she would come with letters of support, but she came just for discussions. She said she would come again tomorrow with the letters of support from other parties. I said, ‘Why wait till tomorrow? I am available any time this afternoon or this evening. You please come as soon as you are ready with the papers. My papers are ready for you.’”

“Right, sir,” I said. “We will wait.”

Wait we did. The message came that Sonia Gandhi would meet the President at 8.15 pm on 19 May. I was ready again with my draft letter to be signed by the President. Precisely at 8.15 pm Sonia Gandhi drove in along with Dr Manmohan Singh. I waited in the anteroom. The moments ticked by.

The bell rang, and I went in. The President told me that he had been informed that it would be Dr Singh who would be the leader of the party. The letter said he was nominated the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party and the prime ministerial candidate of the party. Letters of support from the other parties were also there.

Having been told thus, I went back to change my letter. Now the President was appointing Dr Manmohan Singh the Prime Minister. Dr Singh stood by in all humility and thanked Sonia Gandhi. The President congratulated the Prime Minister-to-be and I, having done my job, retreated.

I thought it had all ended; no, it was just the beginning. The rumour mills had already started working. They said the President refused to swear in Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister. Some said Kalam advised her not to stake a claim. Some scribes made Kalam a hero saying he did not blot the nation’s pride by appointing her the Prime Minister! How many editorials and ‘learned’ articles there were by people on what they saw, heard or learnt when none of them was anywhere near. But then, they had the space in print and television in view, and a gullible, captive readership and audience.

The citizenship of Sonia Gandhi was the issue for them. The Supreme Court had already decided on it. Even so, many representations used to come to the President on this subject. For us in Rashtrapati Bhavan, it had already become a non issue. The Supreme Court’s verdict was clear. And the President was fully aware of it.