Kolhapur (Maharashtra): Surprising a family in a village on the outskirts of the capital of the erstwhile royal kingdom of Kolhapur, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday walked into their home for a chat and stayed back to have a meal with them – part of which he cooked himself.
Landing at Kolhapur in a helicopter, Rahul Gandhi with state Congress bigwigs and security in tow, drove straight to the Unchgaon village which has a population of 50,000.
Unannounced, he walked up to the home of a tempo driver-cum-farmer, Ajaykumar Sanade, 49, his wife Anjana, and their two sons, electrician Abhishek and water-supplier Aditya.
Zapped to see “such a big man”, the Sanade family rushed inside to make arrangements for the distinguished visitor to their abode.
“We were speechless and didn’t know how to react… I first offered him water, and then prepared tea which he sipped and said he liked it…” the dazed Sanade later told IANS.
As the shy Anjana and her sons stood in a corner in a state of ‘red alert’, Gandhi made small talk mostly about their ordinary lifestyle, and suddenly announced that he was “feeling hungry” and wanted to eat something.
Panicking, the Sanades attempted to ask what he would prefer to eat, but the Congress leader casually said: “Don’t worry, I will see myself and prepare something for all of us!”
The Sanade couple guided him to the adjacent kitchen where he opened the small fridge and grabbed some spring onions, a bowl of grams and a few fresh brinjals, and moved to the tiny platform where the gas stove was placed.
“He started chopping the vegetables and took a pan to cook the spring onions, with a trace of oil and water… I was feeling so embarrassed… Hence, I offered to ’Rahul Bhau’ (brother) that I would cook the other two dishes of chana (grams) and brinjals. He agreed, and I prepared them with a few drops of oil, a lot of water, a dash of salt and spices. Simultaneously, I made sufficient ‘jowar bhakris’ for all of us,” recounted Anjana of the kitchen encounter with the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
Meanwhile, her thrilled husband and sons furiously clicked away videos and selfies from all possible angles of the ‘Master Chef’ episode unfolding live in their modest kitchen.
After the ‘brunch’ was ready, the family served it to their visitor and Gandhi commented several times that he “thoroughly relished the fare” and he exclaimed his satisfaction over the meal.
The ‘brunch pe charcha’ consisted of the Congress leader asking the Sanades questions, what the family did, how much were the sons educated, how they were making a living, and a little bit about the bustling village.
“After spending over an hour, he shook hands with us all and bid goodbye, as all the other top Congress leaders and the security detail patiently waited outside, without disturbing us,” said a proud Sanade, recalling how he had attended a political rally addressed by Rahul Gandhi in Kolhapur around 15 years ago.
Sanades even presented Rahul Gandhi with a ‘return gift’ – a copy of the Preamble of the Indian Constitution – as he prepared to leave their dwelling.
When the Congress leader stepped back outside, the team of state Congress President Nana Patole, senior leader Balasaheb Thorat, Kolhapur MP Chhatrapati Shrimant Shahu Maharaj, strongman and MLC Satej D. ‘Bunty’ Patil, and other bigwigs got up to welcome him.
Patole introduced Rahul Gandhi to a ‘heavyweight’, Unchgaon’s two-term Sarpanch (village head) Madhukar Chavan, describing him as a famed wrestler and also a two-time National Champion (1987-1988).
“On hearing this, Rahul Gandhi grinned and walked up to me, warmly shook hands and hugged me… He asked me to teach him a couple of wrestling tricks and the gathering burst into laughter,” a beaming Chavan told IANS from his home nearby.
He described the trip “as the biggest and most memorable honour for Unchgaon and the entire village is in a celebratory mood” with Rahul Gandhi’s surprise visit, his unimaginable act of walking up randomly to a Dalit home, cooking food and joining them in the meal.
Later, Gandhi and his huge caravan of leaders and supporters left for other events in Kolhapur town.
(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: qnajmi@gmail.com )
–IANS