Every Indian citizen could be aware of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of President of India, located in the national capital of New Delhi. But, not this Rashtrapati Bhavan, which was recently traced in this tribal village of Pandonagar, Surajpur in Chhattisgarh.
Apparently, the Rashtrapati Bhavan that has been discovered in Chhattisgarh was a makeshift home of first President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad, which was later converted into a pucca house and christened as Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The story goes like this. During one of his travels on November 11, 1952, with Surajpur's king Ramanuj Sharan Singh in a helicopter, President Prasad spotted the Pando village and thought of spending a day there.
The President was accorded a grand welcome and was put up in a makeshift home. Being happy about villagers' gesture and hospitality, President Prasad distributed houses and cattle to every household of the village.
The villagers, ever since, look upon him as a father figure. "Dr Prasad used to consider villagers as his adopted children and looked after them affectionately," said a villager. He further recalled his father as saying, "It was his dream to connect us with the mainland and he did everything to ensure that."
Though the then President stayed there for only for a day, the natives built a pucca structure in the place and proudly named it Rashtrapati Bhavan. The residents belong to the Pando tribe. Reportedly, the number of households has increased to 700 from 35 since Independence.
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