"Rare Emotional Gesture...": President's Tribute To "Land Of His Birth"

President Ram Nath Kovind, visiting his hometown for the first time since assuming office, bowed and touched the soil of his village Paraunkh in  Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh as Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Governor Anandiben Patel waited to greet him upon arrival.

Dressed in a cream coloured bandhgala and black shoes, the President, soon after landing at a helipad near his village, got down to touch the hard ground and place the fingers back on his forehead as a mark of respect for his hometown.

The President's Office tweeted the pictures.

"Vaccination campaign is going on all over the country and also in Uttar Pradesh. Vaccination is also like a shield to protect against the corona epidemic. That is why I suggest that you all get yourself vaccinated, but also motivate others to get vaccinated," said the President while addressing a Jan Abhinandan Samaroh at his village.

Noting the contribution of his hometown in his journey, the President said: "Wherever I am, the smell of the soil of my village and the memories of the residents of my village are always present in my heart. For me, Paraunkh is not just a village, it is my motherland, from where I have always been inspired to go ahead and serve the country."

"I had never imagined even in my dreams that an ordinary boy like me from the village would get the privilege of discharging the responsibilities of the highest office of the country. But our democratic system has shown this by doing it," President Kovind added.

Earlier, the President, accompanied by First Lady Savita Devi Kovind, boarded a special train to his native place Kanpur, reviving an old tradition of the Head of State travelling in a presidential saloon. APJ Abdul Kalam Azad was the last President to use a presidential saloon in 2006.