Fireworks lit up a village in Kanpur Dehat which resounded with the sounds of celebratory drumbeats when its most famous former resident was sworn in today as the 14th president of India.
Ram Nath Kovind's ancestral village, Paraunkh, erupted with joy, as people danced on the streets to mark the occasion.
With pujas and havans held in temples, villagers celebrated the elevation of the boy who had grown up in a mud hut and now, at 71, had moved to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
In Kanpur city, BJP activists burst crackers in Shikshak Park as the oath-taking ceremony began in the Central Hall of Parliament in New Delhi.
"We have arranged 1,100 earthen lamps at the park, which has been decorated for the historic event," said BJP district president Surendra Maithani.
Party workers gathered at almost every major road crossing, dancing to the beats and music of bands, he said.
"They distributed sweets to passersby," Maithani said.
Buildings of the Kanpur Municipal Corporation (KMC), the Jal Kal Vibhag and the zonal offices of the KMC were illuminated.
Celebrations were also held at the DAV College and the BNSD Intermediate College, where Kovind had studied.
Scores of people started gathering at Kovind's house in Dayanand Vihar in Kanpur, well before he took oath.
"People organised a 'Ramayana Paath' at the house and prayed for his successful stint and stay at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The recital of this 'paath' crushes all negative thoughts," Maithani said.
At Paraunkh village, television sets were installed at community centres and generators were kept handy, to ensure that nobody would miss even a moment of history in the making, he said.
A large TV screen was installed at the Mandi Samiti, where hundreds of villagers watched the oath-taking ceremony.
Meanwhile, security at Kovind's Dayanand Vihar residence of Kovind has been beefed up, sources said.
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