Pranab Mukherjee turns 81

The President will flag off a ‘100 Million for 100 Million’ Campaign organized by the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation in which about 5000 children will participate.

The Campaign aims to mobilise 100 million youth and children for 100 million underprivileged children across the world, to end child labour, child slavery, violence against children and promote the right of every child to be safe, free, and educated, over the next 5 years.

Three books ‘Rashtrapati Bhavan: From Raj to Swaraj’; ‘Life at Rashtrapati Bhavan’ and ‘Indradhanush – Volume II’   will be released by the Vice President of India and Prime Minister of India in the presence of the President.

Rashtrapati Bhavan: From Raj to Swaraj, a book for children recreates the story of Rashtrapati Bhavan from its inception as Government House, a symbol of imperial might, to the present day, where it stands for the very essence of Indian democracy. It takes the readers through the times, introducing the concept of empire, narrating a brief history of the British Empire and telling the tale of how Delhi became the capital of British India, setting thereby the scene for the construction of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The reader is taken to the massive building, through the red sandstone and marble corridors, past the busts of former presidents; through its echoing halls and its elegant sitting rooms.

The reader is introduced to the flower- lined pathways of the magnificent Mughal Gardens and to its walls and pillars, trees and bushes, carvings and paintings.

Life at Rashtrapati Bhavan is an attempt to record the human history of the residents living in the President’s Estate. It is the people who make up this vast space and it is they who have left their imprint on the sands of time.

This documents the period under the colonial state right up to the current presidency and brings in the perspectives of past and present residents of the estate, the permanent staff of the household and secretariat, as well as the officials who have served under different presidencies.

The book also documents the significance of the multiple contributions made by President Pranab Mukherjee and his team in transforming the premises of the Rashtrapati Bhavan into the ‘smart’ city that it is today, and the impact of such changes on the lives of the people here.

Indradhanush Volume-II is a compendium of music, dance, theatre and cinematic presentations organized at Rashtrapati Bhavan from mid 2014 to September 2016.

The President will inaugurate a new Museum for vintage tapestries and carpets in the Marble Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan.  It will display Zardozi canopies and spreads belonging to the early 1900s.

It will include a section of the red embroidered canopy prepared for the 1911 Delhi Durbar of King George VI. 

The lower basement of the Museum will display a collection of Buddhist art, paintings, carvings and assorted gifts presented to different Presidents.

The President will inaugurate a hall for permanent exhibition of grassroots innovations and innovative ideas set up with the assistance of National Innovation Foundation (A science and innovation museum called Navachara was inaugurated by the President on August 4, 2015).

Navachara-II will be open to visitors on every Friday, Saturday and Sunday as part of the Rashtrapati Bhavan tour.