One Man In A Palace

The President of India in Rashtrapati Bhavan. From Tehelka (14 May 05):

...340 rooms that took 17 years to build. One man, with a retinue of around 1000 aides at his command. One man, served by 150 gardeners, 110 sweepers, 35 butlers, 18 cooks, 10 bakers, 16 drivers, five mechanics, 180 bodyguards, 60 horses and a private estate spread over 360 acres in the heart of the Capital... The president of a third world country who costs the national exchequer over Rs 60 crore per annum and stays in a presidential estate worth Rs 11,880 crore (and that's just the land according to the current market value), which houses one of the three largest residences on earth... The constitutional head of one of the world's poorest countries who carves his dinner with exquisite silver cutlery...

All this for a ceremonial office.

Yet, the office still commands considerable weight and his opinions and advice, if they are publicly aired, are taken seriously,particularly by the media, the people, and occasionally the courts as well. This is also because of the trappings of the extravagant paraphernalia surrounding the presidency, which has continued to endow it with an imperial mystique. The President is maintained by the Indian State in no less a manner than the British monarch or a Mughal emperor.

I would add politicians to the list of people taking the President seriously - after the recent spate of presidential petitions by politicians on issues ranging from Jharkhand to tainted ministers. But is the president able to pull his weight only on account of his house? What if he stayed in a 5 BHK? He would have to be a man with a big personality I guess.

However that may be look at the value of the real estate - Rs 11,880 crores! I know what one person would say : SELL IT OFF TO LUXURY APARTMENT BUILDERS!