New Delhi, May 26
Hot sultry Monday afternoon was hardly the perfect setting for a day out in the sun. But the heat did not deter Narendra Modi admirers who come hours before the ceremony to see the change of guard and be a part of the history.

Though the weather department had forecast a “cloudy and thundery” day, there was no such respite for the guests. Pedestal fans provided to be of little help.

So bigwigs and who’s who of the corporate, showbiz and political world used their invitation cards to keep cool till the sun finally went behind the edifice of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Red-gravelled forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan had never seen such a huge gathering at a swearing-in ceremony. The venue had become packed by 4 pm, much before the designated time — 3.30 pm for the media and 5 pm for the other guests.

Guests waited patiently till foreign dignitaries and VVIPs started arriving as per the protocol. Before Modi arrived, his special guests from abroad — Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Nepal PM Sushil Koirala, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and other SAARC leaders — had taken their front-row seats. Interestingly, the loudest cheers, apart from Modi, were reserved for Sharif.

When Modi arrived just before President Pranab Mukherjee, the chants of now familiar “Modi... Modi” reverberated. Today he chose to wear a full-sleeve kurta instead of his trademark half-sleeve kurta. A golden pen in his pocket added a little glitter.

Even though the occasion was ceremonial, for BJP leaders it was a festive occasion, almost like one of Modi’s many election gatherings that the nation had witnessed over the past many months. When he was sworn in as the Prime Minister of the world’s largest democracy before the largest-ever gathering, shouts of “Bharat mata ki jai” and “Vande Mataram” followed.

Salman Khan and Dharmendra were spotted apart from the BJP’s in-house stars such as Vinod Khanna and Hema Malini. Industry and corporate heads rubbed shoulders with religious leaders. Also present were Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and son Rahul and senior leaders P Chidambaram, Jairam Ramesh, Naveen Jindal, Renuka Chowdhury and Montek Singh Ahluwalia. A galaxy of industry leaders, including Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Sunil Mittal and Ashok Hinduja were among those at the star-studded ceremony. Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani, his wife Nita and two sons, his brother Anil and wife Tina and their mother Kokilaben Ambani were in attendance, as were Adani Group head Gautam Adani and his wife. Hinduja Group of Companies (India) chairman Ashok Hinduja as well as Essar head Shashi Ruia and its CEO Prashant Ruia were present.

The Mittal brothers - Sunil, Rajan and Rakesh - DLF vice-chairman Rajiv Singh, Hero MotoCorp managing director and CEO Pawan Munjal, Suzlon Group Chairman Tulsi Tanti and Videocon Group's Rajkumar Dhoot were also present.

From the aviation sector, Jet Airways founder chairman Naresh Goyal and CEO of new entrant AirAsia India Mittu Chandilya were present.