Director-general of police VD Ram shows a photograph of the seven jawans with President APJ Abdul Kalam. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, Feb. 1: Lessons in etiquette and mannerisms learnt in Delhi would always be remembered by them for the rest of their life.

And, if those are taught by someone revered as the ?true guru? by the country, it would be difficult to forget them soon.

The seven jawans of the state police will continue to cherish the moments they had at Rashtrapati Bhavan with the supreme commander of the armed forces, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Each and every word spoken by the President comes as a gospel for them.

?Will you be polite and caring towards the common man when you return to your states? Will you lend a patient ear when the poor and oppressed approach you with their problems? Will you be concerned with the problems being faced by the common man?? asked Kalam as all of them ? 242 in total from various states ? meeting him replied in chorus: ?Yes sir!?

Vijay Kumar Dharamvir, Vijay Bhan Thapa, Ashutosh Pandey, Santosh Kumar, Upendranath Rai, Ajay Kumar Dubey and R.K. Singh find themselves the only lucky ones from the state force to have spent some memorable moments with Kalam.

?It was a dream come true. We had never thought that we could be the guests of the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan itself. We found him to be scholarly and someone who maintains a low profile,? quipped Rai while sharing his experience with The Telegraph.

Rai, a traffic police constable who has also been awarded separately with the police medal for meritorious service, said his heart was moved to find the President so concerned about the last man in the queue. ?He is the common man?s President,? said Rai.

?The President was so concerned about the common man that he made us take a vow to always lend out a helping hand to the needy,? Santosh Kumar observed pointing out how the visit may change their personalities.

?Sometimes the words uttered can leave a lasting impact on minds and souls. The words from the President will go along with us for the rest of our lives,? added Thapa.

The President had wished to meet the lowest rung of the police force at the Rashtrapati Bhavan during the Republic Day celebrations. This is for the first time that any President made such a wish.

Accordingly, seven of the meritorious jawans were selected from the state to spend the afternoon with Kalam.