Smriti Irani shared a photo of Pranab Mukherjee kicking a football at an event organised a few years ago.
Union Minister Smriti Irani shared a heartfelt post on Instagram remembering former President of India Pranab Mukherjee, who died at the age of 84 at a Delhi hospital today.
Sharing a picture of the former President kicking a football at an event organised a few years ago, the minister said she feels blessed to have known him.
The Women and Child Development Minister recalled how Pranab Mukherjee always used to call her by her Bengali name and was "forever excited when the hilsa season came upon us."
"Aye Sriti ilish aesheche... (o smriti hilsa fish is here)... he always called me by my Bengali name, forever excited when the hilsa season came upon us so that I could trouble him for a meal," she wrote on the social media site.
Ms Irani said she was proud when the former President received the Bharat Ratna last year.
"I am blessed to have known him, to have worked with him. Proud when he received the Bharat Ratna. Statesman, President of India, my Dada Pranab Mukherjee. Last I spoke to him he said 'taratari dekha korbo' (we will meet soon)... till we meet again Dada," she added.
"I had the good fortune of working under his guidance during my stint in Education sector. His warmth, dedication and vision left an indelible mark. I mourn the passing away of not only a statesman but also as I fondly called him my 'Dada'," Smriti Irani wrote on Twitter earlier.
Pranab Mukherjee was admitted to hospital on August 10 and had surgery the same day for the removal of a clot in the brain. He had tested positive for COVID-19 in hospital. He developed a lung infection and a renal dysfunction over the past few days, according to doctors.
Mr Mukherjee, who was President of India from 2012 to 2017, died today at the Army's Research and Referral Hospital in Delhi.