President Pranab Mukherjee tonight left for Johannesburg to attend the memorial service for South Africa's anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, embarking on a visit aimed at conveying the "intense grief and personal loss" India feels over his death.        

In his pre-departure statement, Mukherjee said the former South African President was a household name and someone the Indians saw as their own.        

"My delegation and I hope to convey to the government and people of South Africa the intense grief and personal loss that we in India feel over the sad demise of the great soul -- our beloved 'Madiba'," he said.  

"My participation in the memorial service by a delegation, representing the cross-section of our political spectrum reflects the high degree of love and respect which Dr Mandela commanded in India," the President said.