My father never tries to impose his views on me: Sharmistha Mukherjee

Ahead of Father’s Day, President Pranab Mukherjee’s daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee speaks about her dad’s love for Bengali poetry, history of sweets and more
She has inherited her father’s intellect and mother’s creative acumen. Yet, Sharmistha Mukherjee remains essentially a strong-willed independent woman, a gifted kathak dancer and a politician who’s not living under the shadow of her father Pranab Mukherjee, the 13th President of India.But on Father’s Day, Sharmistha turns emotional like all daughters around the world who adore their dads…
You are a proud daughter of a very strong father. What is that one thing that you have inherited from your dad?
My habit of reading, though unfortunately I didn’t inherit his photographic memory.
Your father is the first citizen of the country, but does he still tend to be overprotective about you, like most of the Indian dads?
Parents are always protective about their children no matter how well they are doing or how old they are. My father is no exception. But to his credit, he never tried to mollycoddle us, never tried to impose his views on his children. He let us make our own decisions and learn from our own mistakes. The one thing I most appreciate about my father is that he let me be who I am.
What is his favourite delicacy? Do you plan to cook something for him on Father’s day?
My father is extremely fond of sweets, especially Bengali sweets. In Bengal, each locality has its special sweets. Given a chance, he would rattle off, with the relish of a true connoisseur, the specialty of each area, of different types of sweets including the history of their origin, the shops where you could find the best variety or any other related information. In my family, I am not exactly known for my culinary skills. Whenever I make any attempt to cook, relatives and friends come out with novel ideas on how to avoid tasting it. So I wouldn’t like to torture my father by cooking for him on Father’s Day.
You are the hostess at many formal events organised by the President. What is that one thing that he insists on as a host, especially when it comes to hosting the foreign VVIPS?
I was never the official hostess, but due to illness of my mother, I had to step in, especially whenever a foreign head of state visited with his spouse. After joining politics I have stopped doing that also, unless I am asked to do it on some special occasion. The only thing my father insists on is that I do my homework properly, which entails reading up about the country and the relationship between the two countries, about the visiting dignitaries and about the bilateral issues on agenda for discussion. Being from the field of performing arts, I have a special interest in people to people contact programmes and whatever pertains to soft diplomacy.
Your father has a keen sense of music. Is there any particular musical genre that both of you like?
We both share a fondness of Rabindra Sangeet. I would also like to mention that my mother was a very good Rabindra Sangeet singer. In my growing up years when my father wasn’t so busy, we would have small informal gatherings at home where my mom would sing, and my dad and some other friends would recite Bengali poetry. These are memories that I cherish.
We are told that the President loves gardening, so is there anything that he has tended with his own hands in the presidential garden?
He loves nature and greenery, but doesn’t have time now to do much of it himself. My mom was a keen gardener. She even planted some trees and flowering plants in Rashtrapati Bhavan. These are really special to my dad and me.