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Putin spends an extra five
minutes at Gandhi samadhi

We are paying venerable homage to the genius of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of an independent and prosperous India, wrote Russian President Vladimir Putin in the visitors' book at the Rajghat, the memorial dedicated to the Father of the Nation.

Putin, accompanied by wife Ludmila and members of his delegation, spent five minutes more than the scheduled 20 minutes during his visit on Tuesday morning.

The Rajghat Samadhi Committee, led by Union minister Jagmohan and vice-chairperson Nirmala Deshpande, bestowed on Putin the hospitality and gifts offered to United States President Bill Clinton during his visit in March.

Putin and his his wife planted a sapling of himchamba (magnolia grandiflora) at the lawns of the samadhi. The sapling was planted in the same row of trees planted by Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zamin. Clinton had also planted a himchamba.

Later, he listened to an account by samadhi officials on trees planted by world leaders.

Putin, who arrived at 1005 hours with white footwear provided by samadhi staff, was friendly, relaxed and smiling during his 25-minute stay, said samadhi secretary N Vasudevan, who was among those accompanying Putin around the memorial.

The presence of Russian security personnel was minimal, with arrangements being controlled by Indians.

On his arrival, Putin placed a wreath on the black marble cenotaph and offered rose petals. The Russian first couple stood in silence for a couple of minutes and took the customary circumbulation once.

During a tour of the premises, Putin explained details to his wife. Later, he signed the visitors' book and wrote his comments in Russian.

The Russian president was presented a number of gifts by the samadhi committee, including a set of Gandhi's writings, a CD-Rom containing the Mahatma's pictures, voice and collected works.

Other gifts presented by Jagmohan were a bust of Gandhi, a model charkha and a silk scroll with the seven social sins as enunciated by Gandhiji woven on it. The text of the seven social sins was also translated to him by interpreters.

''This is not my last visit. I will come again,'' Putin said, when samadhi staff requested him to return to see the tree planted by him. Central Public Works Department horticulture director R N S Tyagi had explained details of the sapling planted by the Russian president.

Putin also joined a photo-session in front of the sapling with his entourage and samadhi staff.

UNI

The Putin visit: The full coverage

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