Daijiworld Media Network

Wayanad, May 1: 72-year-old Rajamma Vavathil, a retired staff nurse, who hails from Wayanad, had never thought that Congress president Rahul Gandhi, whom she held in her arms in the labour room of a Delhi hospital, will return to her native land as a candidate after 48 years. It was a pleasant surprise for her.

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

Rajamma Vavathil 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. I was 23 years old then. I was eager to meet the new member of the Gandhi family. You can imagine our excitement about the Prime Minister's grandson. All of us were thrilled," says Vavathil, who joined Holy Family hospital in Delhi after a degree in nursing.

"Rahul was a cute boy and all of us took turns to hold him in our arms because he was the PM's grandson. We were the first ones to see him even before his parents," she says proudly.

The retired nurse says that though Sonia Gandhi was a celebrity patient, the hospital staff did not face any trouble due to security arrangements and the family adhered to hospital rules.

"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," Vavathil adds.

Vavathil moved to Kerala in 1987 after serving in the Army in Ahmadabad.

She says Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi were present outside the labour room though the hospital allowed them entry into the room. 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 did not break any hospital rules to visit the baby, who was kept at the nursery. "The baby was kept in the nursery and visitors were not allowed to touch the baby. And Indira Gandhi did not try to go to the other side and meet the infant," she said.

Though Vavathil was delighted when she heard of the Congress president's candidature from Wayanad, she regrets the fact that she could not meet her grandson, (as she calls him) during the election campaign in Sultan Battery.

"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 PM's grandson," she smiles.

On being asked whether she voted for Rahul Gandhi, she said, "If I don't vote for my grandson, who else I will vote for?"

Vavathil is confident that the Congress president will win from Wayanad and she wishes to see him as the next Prime Minister.