Pratibha Patil loves simple food

JAIPUR: A "simple" person with an austere lifestyle, President-elect Pratibha Patil loves to eat 'daal' and 'Uthappam' but avoids spinach and potatoes and plays harmonium.

Employees at Raj Bhawan here, who are excited that they once served the person who will be sworn in as country's first woman President, describe the 72-year-old leader as "a sheer example of Indian values and simple lifestyle".

"She prefers a very simple food on her table with less oil and spices," says Kailash, official butler at the governor's residence.

"During her stay here she had 'daal' almost every day but was always reluctant to have spinach," he says, adding "other things that she always avoided were rice and potato but always liked Uthappam for breakfast".

Most of the employees found Patil humble and non-complaining. "She always looked after us like a mother. She had never complained of anything. Sometimes even we spotted some mistakes in the food, but she only had words of encouragement for us," says cook Madan Singh.

Patil, who is spiritually inclined, plays harmonium.

"Many people don't know that Pratibha Patil is a very good player of harmonium. During summer vacation in Mt Abu recently she took her harmonium trainer with her and practiced a lot," said another employee.

A driver at the governor's house says Patil had "never been extravagant". "She taught us the same lesson of austerity," he says.

Like her stint in Raj Bahavan, the employees feel that Patil would win millions of hearts while performing her duties as President of India.