Will visit my sasur bari for the first time, says Pranab

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee will Tuesday visit his sasur bari or in-laws' home in Narail district of Bangladesh for the first time. His wife Suvra Mukherjee will also accompany him.

‘Narail aamar sasur bari. (Narail is my in-laws' home),’ Mukherjee told local channel ATN Bangla in an interview.

He is to visit Bhadrabila village, the ancestral home of his in-laws in Sadar sub-district of Narail, located 150 km from Dhaka. The president and his wife, who arrived here Sunday, will fly to Narail by helicopter.

‘I have never visited Narail,’ Mukherjee said. ‘My wife has visited in 1995 with her small troupe Gitanjali. She is unwell now. My daughter too went there.’

Asked what attracts him to Bangladesh, Mukherjee said: ‘Everything. We are a part of that nation. We share the same language, culture, literature, heritage, the same value system. So there are deep roots.’

Mukherjee is to also present the Padma Shri to Bangladeshi social worker Jharna Dhara Chowdhury on Monday morning at a small ceremony. Chowdhury, conferred the Indian civilian award this Republic Day, is secretary of the Gandhi Ashram Trust in Noakhali. She was selected for the award for her 'distinguished service in the field of social work'. The Gandhi Ashram Trust is a philanthropic and development organisation.