The journey promised not to be easy. It would be a long flight, a chopper ride, and then some distance by car, but Suvra Mukherjee was ready for it all; the long haul and her delicate health could not stop her from visiting Bhadrabila, her place of birth, a village in the far flung Narail district of Bangladesh.

“She did not want to miss this homecoming. Especially since this was her first visit home with her husband,” remembers a close aide. If the journey took a toll on her, you couldn’t tell, for in the pictures stood a smiling Ms. Mukherjee, dressed in her favourite yellow, as she accompanied Pranab Mukherjee on what was his first overseas visit as President in 2013. This was also her last official visit as First Lady, as her failing health confined her to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

On Tuesday, as news of her demise broke, staffers and officials in Rashtrapati Bhavan mourned the passing away of the First Lady, who they said was like a “mother at home” and who despite her health concerns, was seen “always with a smile on her lips.”

As condolences poured in from different corners of the world, dignitaries in Delhi lined up to pay tributes to the accomplished dancer, painter and lover of Rabindra Sangeet.

Born on September 17, 1940 in Jessore (now in Bangladesh), she was married to Mr. Mukherjee in 1957. The couple recently celebrated their wedding anniversary, but Ms. Mukherjee, who had been keeping unwell for sometime, took a turn for the worse soon after. She had been in a city hospital since August 7, and her end came at 10.51 a.m. on Tuesday.

The President was informed of her deteriorating condition in the morning and rushed to be by her side. “The President was with her during her last moments,” said the Press Secretary to the President.

-THE HINDU-