First Lady steps down from Raisina Hill on b'day

FIRST-TIMER: First Lady Pratibha Patil celebrated her 73rd birthday with the destitute and the mentally challenged.

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New Delhi: It was the first Presidential birthday in many years to be celebrated outside the grandeur of the Raisina Hill.

First Lady Pratibha Patil celebrated her 73rd birthday with the destitute and the mentally challenged in their homes, in complete contrast to her predecessor Kalam, whose birthday celebrations looked more like Children's Day celebrations inside Raisina Hill.

She also chose to break her studied silence and defined what she wants her Presidency to be remembered for.

“ I want it to be remembered as one where the President is one out of the ordinary people, not any different from them,” she said.

Patil also showed it was not for nothing that she was the first woman to become India’s President.

“One wish I want coming true is that kindness should be the driving force of the society. So that those underprivileged, mentally challenged and distraught can be taken care of,” she said.

Her election was mired in controversy and many of her critics believed that it would be difficult for her to emerge from the shadows of her predecessor. But four months into her presidency, Patil is slowly but surely trying to carve her niche. If Kalam threw the doors open for people, she is trying to reach out.