Septuagenarian cherishes his photo
Mahatma Gandhi is seen walking along Ettines road in Ooty on his way to address a public meeting in February 1934. S.Tiruvengadam, Congressman in Ooty then and one of the organisers of the meet, is seen behind Mahatma. (Photo: DC)
Ooty: Just a day ahead of Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary on Friday, S.T. Lajapathee, a senior citizen in Ooty, continues to cherish the visit of Mahatma to the hills. He also has a photograph of Mahatma's Ooty visit. Lajapathee (72), former general secretary of Nilgiris district Congress committee and son of freedom fighter S. Tiruvengadam, a veteran Congressman in the hills then, though was not born when Mahatma visited the hills in 1934.
He has heard about the visit from his father, Tiruvengadam, who accompanied Mahatma during his visit to the Nilgiris then. The photograph shows Tiruvengadam walking along with Gandhiji on Ettines road in Ooty. For Lajapathee, this photograph is a priceless possession that carries the message on Gandhi's Ooty visit for generations to come.
"According to my father, Mahatma visited Nilgiris in the first week of February in 1934. He was in Coonoor for a couple of days and then went to Ooty and visited Ramakrishna Math, Dakshnamoorthy Math and a temple at Kodapamund in Ooty. He also participated in public meeting held at Municipal maidan, which is now known as Gandhi maidan in Ooty," he said. "New Delhi based Sarvodhya Sangam's records will show Mahatma's Ooty visit and my father's association with Gandhi during that trip," he said.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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