Narayan Gochhikar, a servitor of the 12th century Sri Jagannath Temple in Puri who claims to be the family servitor of President Ram Nath Kovind for the shrine, was elated after his request for a signature from the President in his family record book was accepted.

On behalf of the President, ADC (Aides-de-camp) to the President Major Gopal Singh Poonia put a signature in the record book. Earlier, the request was declined. “I am quite happy as our service to his family has been acknowledged by the President,” said Gochhikar.

The President, along with his wife Savita, arrived here on a two-day visit on Saturday. After reaching Bhubaneswar, the country’s first couple went straight to Puri and later in the evening paid obeisance to Lord Jagannath in the temple. On Sunday, he will inaugurate the three-year celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of Srimad Bhakti Sidhant Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada, the founder of Gaudiya Mission. Kovind will also visit Shree Chaitanya Gaudiya Mutt in Puri before leaving for Delhi on Sunday.

In the record book, Major Poonia wrote: “The Hon’ble President of India was very happy to visit the Jagananth Temple at Puri, Odisha. The divine ambience of the temple impressed him. He would forever cherish the memories of this holy place.”

As per the traditional practice in the Jagannath temple, the servitors maintain a record of the devotees (jajaman) who visit the temple. They divide the service to the visiting devotees among themselves depending on the geographical location of their native places. The practice began ages ago with the approval of the then king of Puri. The devotees are serviced by servitors who have been taking care of people from their area. The servitors keep a record of the visits in their record book. The visiting devotees put their signature on the register of their area servitor to make the record authentic.

Gochhikar has also got the approval of the Puri district administration as the family servitor of the President and was authorised to accompany the Presidential couple to the temple premises.

Gochhikar said, “It’s a privilege to be associated with the President who is the first citizen of the country. It was the third visit of the President to the shrine. The President had earlier visited the shrine on March 18, 2018 and March 22, 2021. On his first visit, my father Krushna Chandra Gochhikar and younger brother Bhagaban had accompanied him to the temple. On the second visit, I along with my brother Bhagaban had accompanied the President.”

The servitor maintained that President’s father Maiku Lal Ji along with his family members had visited the shrine on November 10, 1947. “Our grandfather Rajguru 18 Bhai Balabhadra Gochhikar performed puja for his father Maiku Lal Ji. We have that record. We also had his signature in our record book. It’s a great moment for us to see the son of our devotee as the President of India. The President has given me the dakshina (donation). He was very happy”

All earlier presidents including Giani Zail Singh, Pratibha Patil and Pranab Mukherjee, who visited the shrine, have put their signatures on the record books of servitors.

“Pranab Mukherjee had put his signature on my record book during his visit to the shrine. But its the prerogative of the devotees whether to put the signature or not in the record book. No one can raise questions on it. Its depends whether he believes the record of not.” said Rama Krushna Das Mohapatra, general secretary, Daitapati Niyog ( A servitors body).

The temple was kept out of bounds for devotees to ensure smooth darshan of deities by the visiting dignitaries. The temple administration presented a framed photo of Lord Jagannath to the President.