KANYAKUMARI: Surprises were in store for Antony Felix, 12 as he was waiting along with his friends on the side of the Kanyakumari - Thiruvananthapuram highway on Monday afternoon to greet Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who had been campaigning in Tamil Nadu since Saturday.
The barefooted boy, holding the portrait of former chief minister K Kamaraj, was spotted by Rahul who stopped his convoy for tea at a roadside eatery.
Rahul, who had been speaking of the leadership qualities of Kamaraj over the last two days, put his hand on the shoulders of the boy as he walked to the eatery. They struck a conversation.
Rahul asked Felix what he could do. The boy said he was a 100-meter runner. Impressed, Rahul said he also was an athlete, a marathoner.
“Can you run faster than me,” Rahul asked, to which the Class V student said he could. This was just the beginning of the translation-backed conversation as Rahul spoke in English while the boy replied in Tamil.
Rahul asked him if he had food, if he used shoes while running or was running barefoot, how long he was practising every day and if he was undergoing coaching to become a professional athlete.
Rahul also poked the boy’s stomach and advised him to taking in lot of food – especially vegetables – as athletes need lot of energy. Rahul promised to gift sports shoes to the lad. He also assured to help the boy get enrolled in an academy for training.
He then asked the boy to win many gold medals internationally and bring laurels to India. Rahul went to the boy’s house that is close to the bakery and interacted with his family for a few minutes before proceeding with the campaign and roadshow.