Sitting under a sandstone chhatri in the viceregal palace created by Edward Lutyens was President Kalam with pen in hand, collecting some extremely pressing thoughts on paper...

I, your truly, Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam,

President of India until 25th July when I bid salaam,

Sit musing on my five wonderful years of presidency,

And on the ineffable charm of being India’s rashtrapati.

First, let me tell you how it saddens, worries and hurts me

To see our sweet Pratibhatai being treated so very shabbily,

To witness the gentle lady being cruelly hauled over coals,

Have media scanners examine her relatives and bank rolls,

To be faulted on speeches and what she does in her leisure,

Is to subject the poor soul to hard and relentless pressure.

See, you may agree with her on the Mughals, or disagree,

Personally, I’d have been careful not to tangle with history.

However, the lady has her views and who am I to demur?

Only problem of course is that worrying public murmur.

I personally would have liked to spare the lady the trauma,

I speak this from my heart, since I’m not given to drama.

That’s why I subtly indicated that Abdul Kalam is willing,

If victory was made certain, I could throw my hat in the ring.

It hurt me, the cynical response from some to this selfless offer,

The insinuations were rough; the snide comments, rougher.

... contd.