From being an Assistant Professor in Vidyanagar College, Kolkata to the President of India -- Mukherjee`s journey was marked with his passion for electoral politics and his remarkable loyalty to the Congress party. Pic/AFP

Mukherjee`s political career began in 1969, after being noticed for his by-election campaign management in Midnapore for an independent candidate -- former diplomat and senior Congress leader V.K. Krishna Menon. Mukherjee became a member of the Rajya Sabha in July 1969, following which he was re-elected to the House in 1975, 1981, 1993 and 1999. Pic/AFP

A trusted aide of Indira Gandhi, he appointed former PM Manmohan Singh as RBI governor, during his stint as Finance Minister in the 1980s. Rajiv Gandhi`s decision to keep Mukherjee out of his cabinet was an acrimonious moment in the long relationship that the Congress stalwart enjoyed with the grand old party. Pic/AFP

Later, not hiding his emotions on the development, Mukherjee wrote, When I learned of my ouster from the Cabinet, I was shell-shocked and flabbergasted. I could not believe it. But I composed myself and sat alongside my wife as she watched the swearing-in ceremony on television. Pic/AFP

In 2012, in the twilight of his political career, he was made the President. During his tenure, Mukherjee brought in a refreshing change in the way one perceived Rashtrapati Bhavan. He earned the sobriquet of `People`s President` as he charted his own course as Head of State. Pic/AFP

When PM Modi took over in 2014, the two unlikely personalities forged a relationship of mutual respect that saw the BJP government award the Bharat Ratna to Mukherjee and on that occasion, an emotional Narendra Modi thanked the man he fondly calls `Dada` for `everything that you have done for the nation`. Pic/AFP

He breathed his last on August 21, at the age of 84. Detected with Covid-19, he was on ventilator following a brain surgery to remove a blood clot. Pic/AFP