Hundreds of villagers in Mirati village started gathering in the courtyard of Durga temple of the Mukherjee Bhavan on Monday evening after they learnt that their Kakababu, Mamababu or Poltuda was no more.

Former President Pranab Mukherjee, a Bharat Ratna, was among the tallest political leaders in the country for decades. But he was an ordinary village boy for the people of Mirati, his ancestral village, around 220km from Calcutta.

“This courtyard is the place where people used to come during Durga Puja and meet him.... Today, this same courtyard is full of people but they have come to bid him goodbye,” said Goutam Sarkar, a caretaker at Mukherjee Bhavan for over two decades. “I never saw him miss a single Durga Puja in Mirati during my stint here.... He rose so high in public life, but never forgot his roots. That’s why people love him,” said Sarkar.

Like other years, the Mukherjee household had started preparations for the autumnal festival that pulled the famous son back to the village.

Villagers that this correspondent spoke to on Monday evening recalled Mukherjee’s Chandipath session, the main draw of the Durga Puja festivities at Mukherjee Bhavan.

Some villagers recounted stories of how Mukherjee would reach Mirati despite flooded roads or pressing political engagements and hold fort at the Puja from the evening of Saptami to Vijaya Dashami.

“He was a strict disciplinarian, he fasted on Puja days...This year will be the first when he will not be present during Durga Puja,” said Rabi Chattaraj, a close aide of the Mukherjee family.

These last three weeks, nerves were taut in Mirati as Mukherjee was fighting for his life.

Chattaraj said that he and at least 100 other people organised pujas and yajnas for his speedy recovery.

The Mukherjee home at Mirati village of Birbhum district Amarnath Dutta

“We organised a seven-day yajna in Jubutia Shiva temple for our Mamababu,” sighed Jayanta Chakraborty, a priest in the temple. “I have such fond memories of him. When he became the President, several security curbs had to be in place, but he told the police that no one should be stopped from visiting his house.”

“I have been attached with Pranabda since 1978 as a doctor and and party colleague. It is difficult to believe that he has left us,” said Sushovan Banerjee, a doctor in Bolpur and Padma Shri awardee.

Apart from Durga Puja, Mukherjee visited the district on several occasions, including twice when he came to Visva-Bharati as President and a visitor of the central university. He also attended the convocation of the varsity in 2013.

Prabhakar Bandopadhyay, a teacher and son of Mukherjee’s classmate, recalled his sharp memory. “After he became the President, his alma mater Kirnahar Shibchandra High School organised a felicitation. There, he asked me about my father’s health. He never forgot his classmates. I heard from my father that he was a very bright student and a born leader,” said Bandopadhyay, now a Bengali teacher at the same school where Mukherjee studied.

Mukherjee had studied in Suri Vidyasagar College, which he visited in 2012 to attend a felicitation. “I met him in 1952 as an undergraduate student in Suri Vidyasagar College. I remember the days of student protests,” said Sasthi Kinkar Das, a classmate of Mukherjee who lives in Suri.