Christian Dior in the president’s garden?

Yes! and there are John F Kennedy, Mr Lincoln and Queen Elizabeth plus a variety of other roses. the Mughal Garden thrown open to public for a month is a riot of colours. What are you waiting for? Start walking

The hardest thing on earth, after trying to making an elected representative keep his promise is- making a graveyard shift journalist see the morning sun.

Health-conscious loved ones, noisy rock band neighbours and hyper active face-licking pet canines have tried convincing me to take a morning walk and miserably failed.u00a0 Until the President of India, finally intervened and decided to take things in her hands.

Well, obviously the honourable President hardly knows about my aversion to morning walks. I'm simply referring to a press invite to attend the preview of the Mughal Gardens, which opened for public yesterday. I couldn't help but admit that a divine conspiracy had indeed taken place. So, resigning myself to faith I dragged myself out of bed and headed for the South Basement in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

All the president's maalis: 50 staffers work round the clock in the garden.
President Pratibha Patil admiring a bunch of Tulips

Her Excellency and her roses
After the initial security formalities, a plain-cloths security personnel escorted me to the garden. "Sir, keep to my left and please walk a little faster," he instructed. Perhaps to keep his right hand handy in case he has to draw his weapon and shoot me if I tried anything unexpected in front of Madam President? "Of course, of course," I replied panting, trying to keep up with Mr Long Shanks. Then, surrounded by a tall contingent of body guards a diminutive lady, almost half their size, clad in a pink sari, enters the garden. The photographers become active like a shoal of piranhas. President Patil examines a bed of Montezuma roses, the first citizen of India with a bunch of red roses on Valentine's Day makes for a great photo op and they happily click her from all angles. With a motherly calmness reserved for animated children she obliges to their requests. Her staff carrying two shawls on a platter, just in case the nippy February breeze becomes impish, watches the events unfold from a distance and mutters to himself, 'Madam is kind to everybody'. Giving me rare glimpse of devotion only close aides have for their presidents, kings and spiritual gurus he walks away following the President with rest of her entourage.u00a0

A walk to remember
After half an hour the garden is left to us to play around. A young pretty journalist poses in front of a bed of Louisiana roses where Madam Patil stood a few minutes before. Her colleague gives a knowing smile and wipes out his camera from the bag and gets down to business. I simply walk away from the group and stand in the middle of the central lawn with the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the backdrop. I see a riot of colours and the only sound my mind can register is water trickling down from the fountains. This a scene I could get used to every morning, but then for that I would have to be the President.

I give up my reverie midway try and find out about the garden more. Though inspired by the gardens the Mughals built all over the country and Pakistan, the 15 acre garden designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens is an amalgamation of Persian and English designs. This year the opening of the Mughal Gardens to public viewing has been renamed Rashtrapati Bhavan Udyanotsav. The 15acreu00a0 area also houses the Musical Garden, the Spiritual Garden, Herbal Garden and a Biodiversity park maintained by a team of 50 workers.

The main feature this year is the Roshini Programme, which is theu00a0u00a0 President's environmental initiative and the nature trail. Also, a Curio Shop has been started this year which sells memorabilia like year which sells t-shirts, caps, mouse pads, ties and scarves etc itched with the Rashtrapati Bhavan forecourt. Vegetables from the Kitchen Garden are also on display. The lucky organically cultivated vegetables end up on the President's dining table. The rest go to charity homes.u00a0u00a0u00a0Frankly, I learnt my lesson and intend to take a walk yet again, maybe with all my loved ones and neighbours. But when are you going to put on your walking shoes?