NEW DELHI, June 24: President Shanker Dayal Sharma and First Lady Vimla Sharma went house-hunting this morning, and finally decided on 23, Safdarjung Road. While it is not the 500-room palatial Rastrapati Bhavan the Sharmas are used to, the ministerial bungalow will lessen their post-retirement blues.For the past four days, the President's two sons, Satish Dayal and Ashutosh, and the First Lady had taken turns to see the house and today, at 9 a.m., Sharma accompanied by his wife visited the house and is said to have approved of it.Rajasthan Police personnel had been stationed at the house since 1 a.m. to provide security for the Presidential visit.The spacious bungalow has four bedrooms with attached dressing rooms and bathrooms. Two dining rooms and a huge living room, along with three formal lawns, complete the complex.Sharma will still be able to combine office with home here, just like at his last address, since the bungalow also has a little office complex. Besides, nine servant quarters will ensure that the Sharmas can continue to live in the style they are accustomed to.The last occupant of the bungalow was Sushil Kumar Shinde, who has since moved to Lodhi Estate. The house will be thoroughly refurbished and a security complex will be built inside the compound before the Sharmas shift.The house has another advantage. Without returning to hometown Bhopal, Sharma can keep in touch with his Madhya Pradesh connection as fellow Congressman Madhavrao Scindia lives down the road. Virtually all the personal belongings of the family have been packed and are ready to be shifted from Rastrapati Bhavan. Sharma's huge library, which had been shifted to his Bhopal residence before the President decided he wanted to make Delhi his home, will be brought back now.
