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Chamarajanagar: If Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi has embarked on a tour to "discover" India, it was high time he did so - because people in the rural and tribal areas are beginning to discover him and know him as the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, albeit belatedly.
For the rustic folks and Soliga tribals of southern Karnataka in this most backward district of Chamarajanagar bordering Tamil Nadu, about 185 kilometres from Bangalore, Gandhi's visit this week was a one-of-its-kind experience. No high-profile politician has ever come calling at their doorstep.
The sheer inquisitiveness of hundreds dwelling on the fringes of the rich bio-diverse Western Ghats for a glimpse of the 37-year-old politician and a possible handshake pulled them out of their huts and hamlets in droves on a sunny day to the venue of Gandhi's first public meeting.
"We came to know about him only last week. We never heard of him before! Away from the outside world, we didn't know who he was and how he looked. We learnt about him last weekend when Congressmen came in vehicles, fitted with loudspeakers, and announced his visit to our village saying that 'Sonia Gandhi's son and Indira Gandhi's grandson Rahul is coming to see you, meet you,'" Soliga leader Jade Gouda said.
Though old-timers remember Indira Gandhi and recall knowing her elder son Rajiv and later Sonia, this is was the first time they got to see Rahul in posters and banners that sprung up overnight in and around their villages.
When Gandhi stepped out of the convoy, and went around greeting Soligas and applauding their tribal dance to the beat of forest drums, men and women, young and old, could not take their eyes off him, as they were in awe and bemused by the sight and presence of Rahul Gandhi.
"He is so white! We didn't know Indians can be so fair! From a distance he looks like a foreigner. Though wearing white kurta pyjama, his regality, mannerisms and simplicity have convinced us that he must be from a royal family," tribal woman Chennamma said.
Manjunath, a tribal youth, studying at Chamarajanagar, said if Gandhi had come on his own without fanfare or riding on the Congress bandwagon, he would not have been known or recognised.
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