BHUBANESWAR: The otherwise secluded house of Ratnamala Patnaik at Unit III, Kharavela Nagar here, was teeming with people on Tuesday. All to have a glimpse of the high-profile guest at her house which also wore a new coat of paint on the occasion.Ratnamala, 75-year-old mother-in-law of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s novelist daughter Daman Singh, was paid a visit by her ‘Samdhan’ Gursharan Kaur in the morning.While the Prime Minister was off to inaugurate the 99th Science Congress at KIIT University, Gursharan was accorded a warm reception at her Samdhan’s place. She had her breakfast with the Patnaiks and spent over one and a half hours at their residence. And as per the tradition, Ratnamala presented an Odishi sari bought from Boyanika and Odia sweets to Gursharan.Clad in a red-bordered Sambalpuri saree, Gursharan even alighted from the vehicle which was about to take her to the airport, and posed for a few photographs along with Ratnamala’s family before leaving. She, however, did not speak to mediapersons.“I cannot express my happiness. We are blessed to have relatives like them,” said Ratnamala, adding that she was anxiously waiting to meet Gursharan. Stating that the PM couple were in regular touch with her and the family, Ratnamala said she used to meet the Prime Minister when in Delhi.“Dr Singh could not visit us as he was scheduled to inaugurate the Science Congress and make a brief trip to Congress Bhavan,” said Rajlaksmi Patnaik, sister of Ratnamala.Her two other sisters Subhalaksmi and Bijaylaksmi were also present. Police had made tight security arrangements in Kharavela Nagar in the wake of Gursharan’s visit.Earlier, there were reports of cancellation of her visit to Ratnamala’s residence over security concerns in the area. Ratnamala’s son Ashok Patnaik, an IPS officer, was married to Daman in 1991 and the couple had been staying in Delhi.
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