Patil's record fades under Kalam glory

The president's 51 speeches since July 2007 pale against Kalam's average of 250 per year.

She was elected to the highest office in India amid a blaze of publicity as the first woman to occupy the post. Yet, in the last eight months, President Pratibha Patil appears to have done her best to live that build-up down rather than play it up.

Since being elected in July 2007, Patil has had around 51 speaking engagements, of which at least six are permanent fixtures in any president's itinerary like the address to the joint session of Parliament before the Budget session, the national film awards and the address to the nation on Republic Day and Independence Day.

Contrast this with her predecessor APJ Abdul Kalam, who even now remains much sought-after for speaking engagements, which are usually punctuated by power-point presentations and multi-media conferencing.

In a kind of record, Kalam had speaking engagements on 250 days in each year that he was president, which makes it a total of 1,020 speeches.

Congressmen insist it is Kalam's record that has dwarfed Patil's visibility so far. "There is nothing wrong with the kind of visibility that the president enjoys, it is the former president's extraordinary tenure that is drawing these unfair comparisons," said a senior Congress minister.

While Patil has stuck to women's issues and other social sector initiatives such as education and health, Kalam's more enthusiastic embrace of varied causes has put her in the shade.

In face, Patil made more news before she became president, first by refusing to clear the Freedom of Religion Bill as Rajasthan governor, then blaming Islamic invaders for the purdah and later claiming that the late spiritual head of the Brahma Kumari order came to her in spirit.

After this, she has been lying low.

The New Age arrived in Rashtrapati Bhavan during the previous president's tenure, which saw start of rainwater harvesting, frequent lending of the Bhavan's veterinary facilities, Kalam's advocacy of scientific education and children's rights and his ride on a Sukhoi-30 and a navy submarine.

The only personal information on how Patil is handling her presidency is a rather wistful comment by her son that he misses his mother at mealtime.

As if competition from Kalam was not enough, Patil also has to deal with Vice-President Hamid Ansari's popularity as a Speaker. Ansari, elected in August last year, a month after Patil clocked more than 50 speaking engagements, is much in demand.

The flamboyance of Kalam presidency was always going to be a tough act to follow, but Patil may not have bargained for it being this tough.