Rahul munches on ‘pakodas, bhajjis’ in north Karnataka town

Raichur (Karnataka) : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday stopped by a roadside eatery in north Karnataka’s Raichur town and munched hot and spicy pakodas and bhajjis and sipped tea in a plastic cup along with state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and other party officials.

“Gandhi alighted from the special bus in which he is touring the district and entered the eatery to munch spicy pakodas and bhajjis, served on a paper plate, and sipped tea in a plastic cup, sitting comfortably on a wooden bench,” a party official told IANS here, about 500 km from the state capital Bengaluru.

Pakodas and bhajjis are made of cereal powder paste mixed with grated onion and green chillies and coriander leaves, fried in oil.

Gandhi is on a maiden visit to Karnataka since Saturday after becoming the party president in December. He is touring the northern region since Saturday on a ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ for the people’s blessings ahead of the assembly polls in the state, due in late April or early May.

Gandhi’s surprise act of stopping by the roadside eatery drew curious crowds and surprised the owner of the eatery and his assistants who were delighted to serve the 47-year-old scion of the Gandhi family in the way they do for ordinary customers.

Though stopping by the eatery was not in the schedule, Gandhi asked the driver to stop the bus on the roadside and walked into the open eatery along with his security men and sat on one of its benches for the hot snacks.

“Pakodas and bhajjis are popular snacks in the region, which is semi-arid and hotter than other parts of the state. They are a side dish served at breakfast, for lunch and dinner in homes and eateries.

State Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, party’s state unit president G. Parameshwara, party’s leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, and party’s state in-charge and lawmaker K.C. Venugopal also joined Gandhi in sharing the snacks and sipping the “Irani” chai, famous in the Deccan region.

“When Rahul asked the eatery owner how the business was and how much he earned a day, the latter told him about Rs 2,000 on average. Rahul took out a Rs 2,000 note and gave it to the owner for serving him and about 50 party leaders and cadres on the occasion,” recalled the official.

After touring Koppal and Ballari districts on the weekend, Gandhi is touring Raichur, Yadgir, Kalaburgi and Bidar in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region on Monday and Tuesday to interact with people, farmers, women and children for boosting the party’s poll prospects to retain power in the state.
He also said it was a learning experience to work with well-established names on the project, directed by Chakri Toleti.

“Welcome To New York” is a comedy film, where Diljit will be seen playing a struggling artiste who dreams of becoming an actor.

In real life, Diljit has made a name for himself in the Punjabi film industry and forayed into the Hindi movie space with “Udta Punjab”. He is also a successful singer.

In Punjabi, Diljit has mostly starred in romantic comedy films. Does he want to continue being a part of the same genre?

“I have never thought that this is a romantic comedy film or a serious film… Sometimes you like a script, and then that role and what that character is trying to say… If I like that, then I do it. It is not based on what genre the film is.

“I would like to do films in all types of genres.”

After “Udta Punjab”, Diljit’s second Bollywood film was “Phillauri” and now he will be seen in “Soorma”. He says his two-year career in Bollywood has been very good.

“I think I don’t deserve certain things, and I don’t have that much expectations… I would like to thank those with whom I have worked and (I am) working with. I don’t think that I have that much of capability, but I am getting work and I am doing it,” he added.

His next film “Soorma” — which will release after “Welcome To New York” hits the screens on February 23 — is based on hockey player Sandeep Singh. Diljit says starring in a biopic is a huge responsibility.

“Every actor wants to do a biopic and I am lucky that in my second year I got an offer to do one. I have tried giving my 100 per cent. As an actor, I have given as much as I could,” he added.

IANS