New Delhi : Rain was no deterrent to the At Home reception hosted by President Pranab Mukherjee on the occasion of Independence Day on Saturday, with the around 2,000 invited guests being accommodated inside the palatial Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The grand Ashoka Hall, with its painted ceiling and wooden floor, and the adjacent Dining Hall, with paintings of past presidents on the walls, were used to accommodate the guests, who included ministers, foreign envoys, diplomats, top officials and eminent personalities, reports IANS.
As the rain poured continuously, Rashtrapati Bhavan staff attired in raincoats, helped arriving guests with umbrellas.
Rashtrapati Bhavan has 1,500 umbrellas to be used for such rain emergencies, said a staffer. The lavish arrangements in the Mughal Gardens for the event was a washout. The flower arrangements, including the flower rangoli along the corners of the red sandstone pathway, the umbrella tents for the VIPs and for the food courts, were all hit by rain. The chairs were brought indoors. Just after 6 p.m., President Mukherjee, attired in a cream bandhgala walked down the two halls to greet guests with a ‘namaste’, after which he went to the sofa placed at one end of the Ashoka Hall.
Vice President Hamid Ansari too greeted the guests. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who wore a light cream-coloured, short-sleeved kurta and churidar, also walked in greeting the guests with a namaste.
