It was a pleasant surprise for a young boy, Antony Felix, who had come to a roadside bakery to have a glimpse of Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, whose convoy was to pass through the stretch, near here on Monday.
But even when the leader made an unscheduled stop at the bakery in Paraikode village on the Nagercoil - Thiruvananthapuram highway to have a cup of tea, Antony never thought Mr. Gandhi would walk up to him.
Mr. Gandhi, who has been enjoying the company of local residents during his three-day road show in Tamil Nadu’s southern districts, began a conversation with him. When he told Mr. Gandhi that he was a sprinter, the Congress MP in a lighter vein posed him a challenge. “Can you run faster than me?” With a little chuckle the boy, studying in class 5, told him that he could outrun him. Impressed with the boy’s prompt reaction, the Congress leader promised to send him a pair of running shoes and asked him for his shoe size.
When Mr. Gandhi learnt that the boy lived in the neighbourhood, he walked with him to his house and spent some time with his family.
