The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee received first copies of the books ‘Selected Speeches of the President’ Vol. III and ‘Presidential Retreats’ at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan today (December 11, 2015) from the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi who formally released them.‘Selected Speeches of the President’ - Vol. III is third in a series of volumes containing important speeches of the President. Speeches in this volume have been segregated into three themes, namely, Award Functions, Important Days and Events and Conferences. These speeches reflect the President’s deep understanding and appreciation of the subjects and his vision of where he wants to see our country to be in these sectors. The book has been published by Publications Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.‘The Presidential Retreats of India’ has been prepared by Sahapediaunder commission from the President’s Secretariat and Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA). This book, published by the Publications Division covers “The Retreat” at Mashobra and “Rashtrapati Nilayam” at Secunderabad. Both these are 19th century heritage buildings. In this volume, a team of authors led by Gillian Wright trace the history of grand city residences and rural retreats from the time of construction of Government House, Kolkata (now Raj Bhawan) and the riverside retreat of Barrackpur. The authors look afresh at the Presidential Retreats’ imposing partner buildings―Shimla’s Viceregal Lodge (later the Rashtrapati Niwas and then, the Indian Institute of Advanced Study) and the Residency, Hyderabad. They throw new light on the context of the Retreats by analyzing the development of hill stations and the evolution of Hyderabad’s military cantonments. For the first time, they bring to the public eye, the Retreats themselves, their architecture and interiors. Through first-hand accounts, they describe life as it was and as it is lived at the Retreats, where Presidents have traditionally come both to relax and, more importantly, to meet and make themselves accessible to the people of India.