Telangana village family surprised: Rahul drops in for bath, nap

Gandhi undertook the padyatra in Telangana's Adilabad district to meet families of farmers who allegedly committed suicide and to rally the cause of distressed farmers in the state.

When Macharla Padma first noticed arrangements being made in her village for the much-publicised padyatra by Rahul Gandhi, she only hoped that she would be able to get a glimpse of the Congress vice-president from the terrace of her home.

Congress-vice-president-Rahul-Gandhi-meets-family-members-of-the-famers-who-committed-suicide-during-his-15-KM-padyatra-on-farmers-issue-at-Nirmal-in-Adilabad-district-of-Telangana-PTI-Photo

Little did she know that Gandhi would walk into her home, rest on a wooden sofa after trekking 15 km and even have a shower.

"We were like thunderstruck. We had no clue that Gandhi would be our guest," a still astonished Padma told Hindustan Times.

Gandhi undertook the padyatra in Telangana's Adilabad district on Friday to meet families of farmers who allegedly committed suicide and to rally the cause of distressed farmers in the state.

The venue of a farmers' rally addressed by Gandhi as the culmination of his protest was right across the road from the home of 40-year-old Padma. Her family was surprised when Gandhi walked into their home and slouched in the wooden sofa after marching in the blistering summer heat.

Padma's 21-year-old son Naveen even remembered the exact time--12.46pm--the Congress contingent comprising Gandhi, Digvijay Singh, Raj Babbar and local party leader Maheshwar Reddy entered their home.

The party rested there for two hours as people gathered in large numbers for the rally. Gandhi used the break to have a shower and then rested on a bed in one the rooms for about half an hour.

"They asked for a cake of soap and I provided them two brands - I don't know which of them he used," Naveen said with a smile.

Food for the Congress team came from Reddy's home. Gandhi ate a couple of bananas and some biscuits and drank buttermilk before asking Padma for some tea which she willingly made. "He had two cups of it," she said.

Gandhi took an interest in the family. After learning that Padma rolls bidis, he took some pictures of her making the bidis - a work from home vocation for thousands of women in this part of Telangana.

Naveen took some pictures of Gandhi which he said he will post on WhatsApp and Facebook for his friends to see.

A refreshed looking Gandhi left the place with a 'namaste' for the family and went on to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the rally for not caring about the problems of farmers.