Kitchen not ready, PM delays moving in

For, Gursharan Kaur, who enjoys doing her bit of the domestic chores, remodelling the house still means doing up the kitchen.

In the Prime Minister8217;s house, the kitchen has so far been under the grip of a sort of a butler-bawarchi-khansama regime. But with Kaur taking over the reins, the kitchen slabs would have to be lowered to suit her modest height.

This would be quite a departure from the past. In its past 20 years as the power address of Lutyen8217;s Delhi, the place has seen six prime ministers. The last occupant was, famously, a bachelor.

Rajiv Gandhi was the first prime minister to function from 7 Race Course Road 8212; he had moved from the old prime ministerial residence of 1, Akbar Road and 1, Safdarjung Road, that was converted into a memorial to his mother, Indira Gandhi. His wife, Sonia Gandhi, was totally homebound in those days but somehow the old feudal air surrounding the Nehru-Gandhi clan stuck to the new PM house.

The simple delights of pots and pans were in no way an integral part of the next occupant8217;s domestic life. 8216;8216;Sita Devi was quite an intellectual who had a life of her own,8217;8217; an old-timer says of former prime minister V.P. Singh8217;s wife. Chandrashekhar, who succeeded V.P. Singh, had a rather short stint. So, the 8216;8216;room-service8217;8217; culture was never really broken.

The next full-term occupant was P.V. Narasimha Rao, who was a widower and who maintained a sparse, 8216;8216;nearly austere8217;8217;, household.

Deve Gowda, who led the United Front experiment after the Congress debacle, preferred to leave his family in his southern estate. His successor, I.K. Gujral, was too entrenched in Delhi. He maintained his other address 8212; the Maharani Bagh mansion 8212; all through.

Manmohan Singh is still staying at 19, Safdarjung Road. This is also because his predecessor, A.B. Vajpayee, took time to find a bungalow that suited his numerological needs.

8216;8216;It had to be refurbished according to the Vajpayee8217;s foster family8217;s tastes,8217;8217; an official at the Urban Development Ministry said.

As for 7 038; 3 Race Course Road, 8216;8216;it is being re-designed and adjusted to fulfill the requirements of a housewife. From furnishing to wall paint, it would reflect their simple way of life8217;8217;, CPWD officials said.