A house for the outgoing Commander-in-Chief

After relinquishing his post at Rashtrapati Bhavan, President APJ Abdul Kalam will be off to Tamil Nadu for at least two weeks. Which is all for the good, since his official post-retirement residence at 10 Rajaji Marg is still not ready for occupation.

And with the new house likely to take up to a month to be spruced up, it is the Army to the rescue. It has offered Kalam the use of a guest house on Mall Road in the Delhi Cantonment area. Apparently, this was done at the express instructions of Army Chief JJ Singh. In fact, it is into this house that Kalam will move when he leaves his plush quarters at Rashtrapati Bhavan on July 25. However, he won’t have much time to savour the Army’s generosity since a few hours later that day he will catch a flight to Chennai.