I Held Rahul Gandhi In My Arms Even Before His Parents, Says Nurse From Wayanad

Life sometimes springs pleasant surprises 바카라� and 72-year-old Rajamma Vavathil can vouch for it.

Vavathil, a retired staff nurse, who hails from Wayanad, had no inkling that Congress president Rahul Gandhi, whom she held in her arms as a newborn in the labour room of a Delhi hospital, will return to her native land as a candidate after 48 years.

Wayanad constituency in Kerala shot to limelight after Rahul Gandhi chose to contest from this seat in the Lok Saha elections, besides his family bastion Amethi.

바카라�I never thought even in my dreams that Rahul Gandhi will come to Wayanad to contest,바카라� says Vavathil. The 72-year-old vividly remembers the day Rahul Gandhi was born and the delivery room, where she was in attendance with a team of doctors and nurses.

"It was June 19, 1970, if my memory is correct," she says. As a 23-year-old, she was eager to meet the new member of the Gandhi family.

바카라�You can imagine our excitement about the Prime Minister바카라�s grandson. All of us were thrilled,바카라� beams Vavathil, who joined Holy Family hospital in Delhi after a degree in nursing. 바카라�Rahul was a cute boy and all of us took turns to hold him in our arms because he was the PM바카라�s grandson. We were the first ones to see him even before his parents,바카라� she says proudly.

The retired nurse says that though Sonia Gandhi was a celebrity patient, the hospital staff didn바카라�t face any trouble due to security arrangements and the family adhered to hospital rules.

바카라�There was hardly any security for Sonia Gandhi. I met her in the labour room in the afternoon. She was very co-operative and it was a normal delivery. There was a team of nurses, paediatricians and doctors,바카라� says Vavathil, who moved to Kerala in 1987 after serving in the Army in Ahmedabad.

She says Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi were present outside the labour room though the hospital allowed them entry into the room. 바카라�Though our hospital allowed them entry in the labour room, they opted to wait outside,바카라� she says, adding that she remembers both the brothers wearing white kurtas.

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who was touring Patna, came to the hospital after three days to meet her grandson. Vavathil says the Prime Minister didn바카라�t break any hospital rules to visit the baby, who was kept at the nursery.

바카라�The baby was kept in the nursery and visitors were not allowed to touch the baby. And Indira Gandhi didn바카라�t try to go to the other side and meet the infant,바카라� she said.

Though Vavathil was delighted when she heard of the Congress president바카라�s candidature from Wayanad, she regrets the fact that she couldn바카라�t meet her grandson, (as she calls him) during the election campaign in Sultan Battery.

바카라�I am looking forward to meet him as early as possible. I have a lot of stories to share with him. I am sure his grandmother and mother may not have shared these stories with him. How he was born, who saw you first when you opened your eyes, how we looked after you, how we used to address you as PM바카라�s grandson,바카라� she smiles. On being asked whether she voted for Rahul Gandhi, she said, 바카라�If I don바카라�t vote for my grandson, who else will I?바카라�

The 72-year-old is confident that the Congress president will win from Wayanad and she wishes to see him as the next Prime Minister.

What will she tell him if they meet? 바카라�I don바카라�t know what all topics I am going to discuss with him. I have carried him in these hands. I will let him know that,바카라� she quips. Though the constituency is in dire need of a hospital and other infrastructure, Vavathil says that she will keep all those talks for their second visit.

바카라�I wouldn바카라�t make any demands in our first meeting. If we meet for a second time, I will crib about the pressing issues of Wayanad,바카라� she says.