By IANS
New Delhi : His last day in office Tuesday was busy as ever – crammed with appointments – as outgoing President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam prepared to bid farewell to the majestic portals of Rashtrapati Bhavan which he had inhabited as president of the nation for five years.
Living up to the epithet of 'people's president', Kalam squeezed in a few moments in his packed schedule to meet students of the capital's Hindu College.
Kalam, who demits office Wednesday, had appointments right till 8 p.m. – with meetings fixed with the chief of protocol, ministry of external affairs, the outgoing deputy military secretary, four students of Hindu college, a television channel editor and with Chhattisgarh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan.
The president is hosting a dinner for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his council of ministers Tuesday along with president-elect Pratibha Patil, who will move into the 340-roomed presidential palace Wednesday after the oath taking ceremony in parliament's central hall.
Kalam will also address the nation one last time as the first citizen Tuesday evening. His address will be telecast on all Doordarshan channels from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. All India Radio (AIR) will broadcast his address from 7.30 p.m. onwards on all its channels in English, to be followed by a Hindi translation.
"The president always wanted to meet people. He was trying to catch up with his pending appointments during the last week," said a presidential office source.
The tech-savvy president, known for his penchant for keeping in touch with people through e-mail, has been working on his personal website – www.abdulkalam.com. "It will be operational on July 25, 2007," says the website.
According to his personal aides, Kalam will be using the website to continue his interaction with children across country, something he always looks forward to.
He moves into a two-room army guest house on Mall Road here Wednesday till his double-storey house at 10, Rajaji Marg is ready.