The packers came and gave an assessment of how long they would take to pack his belongings. The number of his engagements has shot up as people from all walks of life line up for courtesy calls. The corridors of Raj Bhawan are abuzz with speculation on the new entrant.

Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who many call the “people’s Governor”, is all set to bid adieu to Raj Bhawan on December 13 after a stint that saw many controversies and his famous run-ins with the Communist government.

And even though there were requests from various Opposition parties and leading intellectuals of the city to him to stay back, the Governor has turned them down and is packing his bags to go back to his house in Chennai — unless, of course, the Central government sends him on another assignment.

“The packing will be done in the first week of next month. We called the packer and he said he needed four days to finish his job. In fact, his belongings are meager, except for his books that number nearly about a thousand. There are some Bengali books also as the Governor learnt the language here. The collection includes Bangalnama by Tapan Roychoudhury and books by Mahasweta Devi, among others,” a source said.

The Governor has also decided not to take along with him any of the gifts he received during his tenure at the Raj Bhawan. “There are about 100 gifts he got but he is leaving behind all those at the Raj Bhawan,” the source said.

... contd.