World | India
When Miliband tucked into bed in a thatched hut in Amethi
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband got a flavour of rustic India - a thatched hut and a rope cot to sleep, and cattle grazing in the backyard - when he and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi spent a night in a village in the latter's parliamentary constituency.
- IANS
- Published: 23:51 January 15, 2009
Amethi: British Foreign Secretary David Miliband got a flavour of rustic India - a thatched hut and a rope cot to sleep, and cattle grazing in the backyard - when he and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi spent a night in a village in the latter's parliamentary constituency.
The two leaders reached Amethi, about 80km from Uttar Pradesh's capital, Lucknow, for a two-day visit on Wednesday, and retired for the night after attending a non-formal panchayat (village committee) in Semra village for about three-and-a-half hours.
Milliband evinced keen interest in the problems of the farmers as Gandhi, who represents Amethi in the Lower House of parliament, played interpreter on the cold January night.
The two leaders had a spartan meal after which Miliband accepted the hospitality of Karma, a Dalit (lower caste) woman, while Gandhi was welcomed by another Dalit woman, Shiv Kumari, living in the adjoining hut.
Shiv Kumari, who lives in the hut with three children, said she was left speechless when she found Rahul and an angrez (Englishman) at her doorstep late in the night.
"They came to my hut at night after 11.30pm and asked humbly whether they could spend a night at my hut," the overwhelmed 42-year-old told reporters.
Miliband, she said, sought answers on technological advancements that had reached the village and the status of education among other challenges facing the people.
Playing the translator
"During our interaction, Rahul acted as a translator," she said.
At about 1am, Miliband went next door to Karma's house and met farmers, asking questions about agricultural technologies before going to sleep, locals said.
It was a sleepless night for Shiv Kumari.
"Their presence kept me awake all night as I thought they could need water or food anytime," she said, adding that her guests decided to content themselves with the food they had brought along.
"Although every arrangement was made for their stay at the Munshiganj guest house, they preferred to stay in the village to get a first hand account of rural life," said Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Akhilesh Pratap Singh.
The two leaders left for the guest house early yesterday morning, all the while keeping the media at bay.
Before reaching Semra, Gandhi and the 15-member British delegation visited about half-a-dozen mud-and-brick villages, Akhilesh Pratap Singh said. Reporters crowding Amethi saw them whiz past in a convoy but did not get to talk to them throughout the day.
The two also visited the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital and the Indira Gandhi Eye Hospital in Amethi, one named after Rahul Gandhi's uncle and the other after his grandmother.
News Editor's choice
-
6,000 cups and counting: Addicted to that tea
This cafeteria in Al Mamzar attracts thousands of customers daily, including the rich and not so rich
-
Swimming pool horror: Twins hospitalised
Twins rushed to hospital after collapsing from chlorine inhalation at swimming pool in their villa
-
Play your cards right with credit card interest
UAE Central Bank plans to cap interest rates, but are you paying thirty-five per cent now?
