As in politics, so in the spiritual - Pranab Mukherjee leads the prayers at his ancestral home in West Bengal on the occasion of Durga Puja every year. Mirati, West Bengal: The TV crews have only started coming recently, to the village of Mirati, 5 hours north of Kolkata - but this is an annual ritual, one which he has almost never missed.
He told us, "It is a part of our family tradition. Moreover, as a village boy I grew up in this atmosphere, up to my graduation. For 20-21 years of my formative stage I lived in this atmosphere. I studied at the high school. If you walk from this place to my school it will be about 5 kms."
It is a rare glimpse for the outside world into the reclusive Mukherjee family.
His wife Suvra Mukherjee says, "Durga Puja jaise hota hai, waise hi hai. Every year Pranab babu participates."
His elder brother, Pijush Mukherjee, says, "We think this is still a joint family. Though we live apart for our purpose of life but we are so much connected to each other. Not only my brother Pranab Mukherjee but my sister, I myself and Pranab we do not think that it isn't a joint family."
His son, Abhijit Mukherjee who is now following his footsteps and a Congress MLA from West Bengal says, "It's a golden opportunity, that's why we never miss this chance. Irrespective of whether we are in politics or not we come here during these four days for Durga Puja."
But even here the questions will follow him - of the raging controversy with his cabinet colleague - where for once the crisis manager found himself as a protagonist in the crisis.
He maintains, "Both myself and Chidambaram addressed the media and Mr Chidambaram said chapter is closed and I have admitted it. So what is the question? I have high regard for Mr Chidambaram. He is a very good, competent minister and I have worked with him for several years."
Speaking on the controversy, Editor-in-chief of The Indian Express Shekhar Gupta feels, "To me it looked like a 23 second Treaty of Versailles enacted on live TV. It wasn't the best way of doing it. It wasn't also the best way to expose two of your most important ministers to public glare like this. I don't think it helped anybody."
A cosmetic patch, because as many say the core questions remain unaddressed.
How did the finance ministry's opinion which criticized the then finance minister Mr Chidambaram, make its way into a joint note meant to reconcile differences between ministries?
How can Mr Mukherjee brush aside his role, when the same letter clearly says he has seen it ?
And was the information released readily - a little too readily perhaps by the PMO?
The Political Editor of Hindustan Times, Vinod Sharma, says, "Questions remain about the brief editorial comment in what was otherwise a factsheet prepared jointly by different departments that were stakeholders in the 2G spectrum allocation. The Telecom Ministry, the Department of Economic Affairs, the Cabinet Secretariat, they were all part of it. How this comment crept into the note is the million dollar question."
Even before those questions can be fully answered, fresh controversies have claimed Pranab Mukherjee's attention, like the Anna Hazare crisis, which seems to pose fresh challenges.
Anna Hazare has now said that he will campaign against the Congress and ask people to not vote for the party if the Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed.
"I think nobody should take an extreme position. That is my general view" said Pranab, reacting to Anna's statement.
Then there is the Telangana agitation, which has required Pranab Mukherjee to cut short his time in his village and rush back to Delhi.
Pranab says, "My problem is that I have always seen, though I have not always dealt with the Telangana problem, that the Telangana agitations are highly emotive. Every language and regional issue is emotive. So Telangana is also an emotive issue. There is no easy way to find a solution but we have to try. We are working. We are talking to our people. But the exact timeframe is difficult to indicate. Let us see."
As Pranab Mukherjee rushes to defuse one crisis after another, many say that the larger lesson is the growing perception of a rudderless government.
"Ministers seem to be working on the basis of every man for himself. It's not just the senior most ministers, even the junior most ministers seem to be doing that. In the cabinet system whenever the Prime Minister's authority is not properly established these things happen," says Shekhar Gupta.
This ironically raises questions, once again, about why Pranab Mukherjee is the eternal bridesmaid.
As Vinod Sharma says, "In my very subjective opinion, if he does not become Prime Minister then he will be the best Prime Minister that India never had."
But for his family- these are not abstract debates.
Pijush Mukherjee tells us, "Considering his present position we think that he ought to have more other important portfolios."
They have, like many families of those in public life, dealt with the difficulties of a workaholic parent or husband.
Suvra Mukherjee, Pranab's wife told us, "He's always been busy. Jab mera shaadi hua ha na, tab mera use mulakat bahut kam hota tha. Baatcheet bhi bahut kam hota hai. He's always very busy, very busy. I have no time with him."
His son Abhijit too was candid not getting enough time with him, "Obviously. Not only me, everyone. It's a complaint, not only my mother's complaint but my complaint, my sister's complaint, my children's complaint, my wife's complaint, that we should have more time with you. And that time comes only after 11 at night."
Reminiscing on his childhood, Abhijit continues, "He was always busy. Whenever I remember my childhood I never remember him being home when I got up. He used to leave at 6 am. I used to get up at 6:30-7. I used to go to bed at 9-9:30. He used to come after that. He was very busy right from the beginning. Not only me but my sister also missed it. Now I am in politics so I have another platform to come to him. I am utilizing that 100%."
Also follows from them, a more candid admission of expectations.
Abhijit states unequivocally, "I always expect that my father should be the number one"
However the most frank admission comes from Pranab Mukherjee's elder brother, Pjiush Mukherjee, a scholar at Santiniketan University. He says, "Considering his present position we think that he ought to have more other important portfolios. When we consider his present political stature we think that the first post - either President or Prime Minister, he could have been ideal. He is really fit for that post."
He also admits that there is no reason for him to be denied the top job as "He has given most of his time in the service of Nehru Gandhi family."
Putting it rather poignantly he goes on, "Pranab is working so much in Indian politics but Pranab is not getting his proper place. As a relative and as I am his elder brother I feel sorry for him. Infact it disturbed me too much when he was not allowed to take the salute on Republic Day though he was the PM at that time. It shocked us. Why Sonia deprived him of such a thing? She has recognized him as the PM."
Strong words from the generally reclusive Mukherjee family. But the answer to Pranab being denied may lie in the past.
Many believe the rift with the Nehru-Gandhi family he has served began on the very day of the Indira assassination, in 1984.
In a previous interview to NDTV, Pranab had spoken of it, "I was in along with Mr. Rajiv Gandhi and Barkat Gani Khan Choudhury. We were having some programs in West Bengal. I was totally broken when I heard it. And in the whole journey from there to a place where we got the chopper, from chopper to Calcutta and from Calcutta to Delhi in the Indian Airlines. We got the message. Rajiv brought it from the cockpit. He contacted Delhi. And he said that she has actually expired. I was completely broken."
Pranab allegedly claimed that on that fateful flight, he as Finance Minister and number two should be the replacement for Indira which leaders of that generation, like the late Vasant Sathe , told us was the beginning of the rift with the first family.
Sathe had told us that "Once I had said jocularly in one of the Congress party meeting before Rajiv that please don't make the mistake of appointing anyone as number two. Because the moment you do that, that number two starts having ambition of becoming number 1. That was with reference to what Pranabda had done after Indiraji's demise. You see Indiraji did treat him as a man of great confidence. She did not name him number two, but he was treated as one of the senior advisors. And he started having the idea that after her demise he should be nominated by the Parliamentary Party and the Cabinet colleagues as the prime minister.''
Pranab however has always denied this: he insists he was only going by the book, something he had done all his life.
But by then it was too late. Rajiv had turned against him, and he was expelled from the Congress.
Pranab maintains, "It was a misunderstanding. And which was admitted by Rajivji himself, I think in one of the interviews I think given to Aroon Purie India Today before his assassination."
He managed to come back into favour soon afterwards, in less than six years but it was never the same.
Senior journalist and author, Inder Malhotra feels, "As far as this dispensation is concerned, anyone who defied Rajiv Gandhi in the past, or says a bad thing today, obviously can't expect to have a glorious future."
Yes he may know it too, but he would rarely admit, except on one occasion, when he admitted that Sonia Gandhi has greater ease with Manmohan Singh.
In an interview to NDTV in 2009 he said, "He enjoyed the confidence of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi. And that's why when the office was offered to Mrs. Sonia Gandhi it was for her to decide whom she would like to have and with whom she would find more comfort."
That was in 2009. Today, in 2011, he brushed it away brusquely, instead trying to outline the future leadership of the Congress.
"Of course Congress has always provided new leadership. You compare and tell the BJP. Since 1951, when it was established, and particularly from the 1960s these are the two leaders we've had, Vajpayee and Advani. After Deendayal's death they have emerged. The Communist Party, till the other day, had old Politburo members from the 1920s and 1930s. Surjeet, Jyoti Basu... Now the new generation has come with Prakash Karat and others. In between you have seen how many young people have come into the Congress Party. Apart from Rajiv, at what age did Indira Gandhi become PM? She wasn't even 50. In 1966 she became PM when she was 49. She became Congress President when she was 42. Jawaharlal Nehru became Congress President when he was 40. Azad was 36. Therefore the Congress has provided young leadership throughout its life.
We asked him if he was hinting then that this is Rahul's time.
He said "he will emerge as the leader of the party, no doubt".
And to a question if Dr. Manmohan Singh will complete his full term, he said "Of course. There is no question of mid-term elections or things like that. I am repeating Mrs. Sonia Gandhi. During the release of the manifesto friends like you asked her that who would be the PM if the Congress Party is again asked to lead the coalition or if they get absolute majority? In the manifesto there were two pictures of Soniaji and PM. She herself took the manifesto, covered her own picture with her right hand and showed it to the media. You get the answer."
In his characteristic manner, he ended by saying that he is "quite happy where I am. I am quite happy."
(With inputs from Niha Masih)