Red carpet for new President

She would walk on a custom-made, Iranian carpet

LUCKNOW: When the new occupant of the Rashtrapathi Bhavan arrives after the presidential election on July 19, it would be to a grand red carpet welcome – not only metaphorically, but also literally. The new First Citizen of the country would walk in on a custom-made carpet, bearing Iranian motifs, made in Mirzapur, in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

“These are some of the most beautiful specimens we have produced,” said VR Sharma, MD of Obeetee Textiles, a carpet export house which has been producing carpets on order from the Rashtrapati Bhavan since the late eighties. 

The total bill for the Rashtrapati Bhavan’s new carpets is Rs1.91 crore. The one on which the new incumbent would walk on is L-shaped and made for the long President House corridor. Another piece, measuring 700 sq metres, has been produced for the new auditorium, and three 64 ft by 63 ft carpets have been created for the halls.

Mirzapur carpets had caught the fancy of former President R Venkataraman, who occupied Rashtrapathi Bhavan from 1987 to 1992.

Since the carpets ordered were very large, a huge new loom had to be put up by the company in Mirzapur. The wood needed for the loom came from Myanmar.