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3 S Much lias been written about the Rashtrapati Bhavan as a 20th century ‘palace’ that once lay at the heart of a British imperial vision of India and later on, as the centre of democratic republicanism in the modern nation of India. However, very little is known about the vast estate that lies behind the facade of the main building. This volume sheds light on the symbiotic and organic oneness between the main building, the home to the president and his/her family, and the vast 330-acre estate, which is currently home to nearly 1000 households. The microcosm of the estate is, indeed, a vital part of the macro-history of a constantly changing and evolving landscape in the history of India—and, indeed. South Asia. Tracing its origins in the late colonial period where the viceregal families employed numerous family retainers to service the household and estate, this volume also looks into the dynamic transformation in the post- Independence period, during which the estate was reinvented as a democratic space. The intention is to bring out the grandeur of life in the seat of the head of state on one hand and, on the other, the intimacy of life in a small, self-contained community. As a landscape, the Rashtrapati Bhavan is sedimented with memories: of the long-term residents, who have stayed on for generations, as well as the more short-term counterparts, who have been posted at the Rashtrapati Bhavan for a fixed tenure. This volume seeks to recover and re-tell these half-forgotten narratives and has conducted extensive interviews to present a history from below. As the culminating volume in a series of books documenting the rich social, cultural and historical significance of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Life at Rashtrapati Bhavan, aims to chart out the various forms taken by the building and its estate: from symbol of imperial domination to one of national pride, from private home(s) to a public monument and, more recently, as a model township of the nation. RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN, NEW DELHI iSH LIFE AT RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN left. The Rashtrapati Bhavan is the first port of call for visiting heads of state. Seen here is the president of the United States of America, Barrack Obama, at his formal reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan as the chief guest at the Republic Day parade, 2015. He receives the salute from the guard of honour in the forecourt yni s **^9K*S 'l : V ’ LIFE AT RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN Edited by Sudha Gopalakrishnan & Yashaswini Chandra Photography by Dinesh Khanna Published by Publications Division, Government of India The first Indian President Rajendra Prasad leaves the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the state carriage, 1952 (Source: Rashtrapati Bhavan Photo Section) LIFE AT RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN © 2016, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, India Commissioned by the President’s Secretariat, Rashtrapati Bhavan, and Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), Ministry of Culture, Government of India Executed by Sahapedia Edited by Sudha Gopalakrishnan andYashaswini Chandra Principal Photography by Dinesh Khanna, 2014—16 Additional Photography by Narendra Bisht, Ram Rahman, Dheeraj Paul and Joginder Singh Other Photos: Photo Section, Rashtrapati Bhavan; President's Bodyguard (PBG) Album; Press Information Bureau (PIB), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India; Alkazi Collection of Photography, India; Country Life Magazine, UK; Imperial War Museum, UK; The National Science Museum, UK; The City Palace,Jaipur; Sneh Govind Singh; Saurabh Oliver Sinclair; and Niloufer Menon Resource PersomVenu Rajamony, press secretary to the president Researchers: Adhitya Dhanapal,Vishal Singh Deo, Ektaa Jain and Priyanka Seshadri Editorial Consultant: Nirmal K. Bhattacharjee Editorial Assistance: Dipali Singh Designed by Yamini Gandhi, Incarnations Design Production CoordinatiomV.K. Meena, Publications Division Printed by Nutech Print Services - India Note: Opinions expressed by the authors are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Rashtrapati Bhavan or any employee thereof. PRICE: ^ 1510 All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-81-230-2298-7 No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in RB-ENG-OP-067-2016-17 writing from the Presidents Secretariat and the Publications Division. Published by Every effort has been made to obtain permission to use the images published in this book and/or acknowledge the copyright holders. In case there is any objection pertaining to copyright or if any copyright holder has not been acknowledged Additional Director General inadvertently, the publishers encourage that such cases may be brought to Publications Division their notice and the same will be rectified appropriately in future edition. Ministry ot Information and Broadcasting, Government of India