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New Delhi: A year after she created history by becoming India's first woman president, Pratibha Patil's innings in Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential palace, has largely been marked by reticence.
Many feel Patil needs more time to come into her own, especially on widening the role of women.
The 72-year-old lawyer-turned-politician who brings with her a wealth of experience as a politician and an administrator completes a year today in the 340-room presidential palace, possibly the largest presidential mansion in the world, and except for some minor hitches her term has for the most part been non-controversial.
In the run-up to the trust vote debate in parliament and the political drama that preceded it many anticipated that Patil would be thrown into the spotlight in the event of a threat to the United Progressive Alliance government.
It was Patil's maiden 12-day-long foreign visit to three Latin American countries - Brazil, Mexico and Chile - in April that created front page news for reasons other than matters of state. Her reported breach of protocol in making a personal trip to the US for visiting a university during the tour created a minor storm. While there, Patil created protocol jitters as she inadvertently passed the Mexican flag at the ceremonial reception without bowing but quickly went back after her attention was drawn to it by the Mexican Guard Commander.
Even Patil's trip to Jammu and Kashmir, where she visited forward areas near the Line of Control and a bunker located at 3,200 metres had some share of excitement.
In his blog, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said: "They say a picture speaks a thousand words and I would have been thrilled to see a photograph of the president talking to kids, as a grandmother would."
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