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Kalam ko salaam: President
Dr A P J Abdul Kalam (left)
with Laila Rajpal and Feroz Khan | In the first week of December, Feroz Khan and daughter Laila met President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, to invite him for Fardeen Khan's wedding, and came away highly impressed with the President's humility and simplicity.
The President wrote Feroz a beautiful letter, and Laila wants to present him with one of her paintings.
We bring you the king of style's encounter with India's first citizen.
When and where did you meet the president?
It was around the first week of December, at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Who got in touch with you?
I wanted an audience with him, to invite him for Fardeen's wedding. I have always been a great fan of the president. We discussed a lot of things — from paintings to poetry, and briefly, films, in the 20 minutes we were with him. Dr Kalam is very fond of paintings, and Laila and he discussed them. He hasn't seen her paintings but said he would now.
He also said he looked forward to the bridal couple (Fardeen and Natasha) coming to Delhi, as he would love to have them over for tea. He also wrote me a beautiful letter, something I will always cherish for the rest of my life. It started with 'Dear janab Feroz Khan, thanks for the invite', and wished the couple in beautiful prose.
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| Big fat khan wedding: Feroz Khan, Natasha and Fardeen Khan | Were you nervous?
I wasn't nervous, but looking forward to the meeting. What I didn't expect was the cordiality and humility I found in a man of his stature.
Could you shed some light on the meeting?
After discussing art, the president went to his computer and showed us the flowers he had created on it; he loves roses. He's such a simple man, a scientist and a brilliant personality. He is from Tamil Nadu, and I know a bit of Tamil, so we conversed in the language a bit.
He quoted from Shakespeare, took us for a walk in the garden and showed us Venus over the moon. It was the most delightful 20 minutes of my life.
I have met two presidents (K R Narayanan and someone else) and all were great people. But this meeting will remain special and etched in my mind because of his simplicity. Sitting in front of you, he radiates an aura that commands a lot of respect |
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