PATIALA PUNJAB

NAT4National/Lifestyle/SecurityRahul Gandhi has gastronomic date with PunjabBy Alkesh SharmaPatiala Punjab, Sep 23 IANS Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi gorged on makki ki roti, sarson ka saag, pakodas and laddoos while he toured rural Punjab to motivate the youth to join politics. He had salty lassi but is still looking for the sweet variety.On Monday, the first day of his three day trip to Punjab, Gandhi had lunch at a small village called Baran, around 10 km from here. Ladies sat in the open preparing food for Gandhi and his entourage."The food was really good. I had makki ki roti and sarson ka saag bread made of corn flour and mustard greens along with a glass of salty lassi. But I missed my favourite sweet lassi and would really like to have it," said Gandhi.Later, Gandhi visited Namada village, about 30 km from here, to pay obeisance at the historical Gorakhnath temple and walk through a 150-year-old festival that is attended by thousands of people from various states anually.Officials of high profile Special Protection Group SPG had been stationed in Namada for three days before Gandhi's visit."The SPG officials searched all the houses and checked the identity cards of all the residents. We have never seen so many officials before so this was all very surprising for all of us," Dyala Ram, a resident of Namada, told IANS.During the festival, merchants from Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana set up stalls to sell their wares. On reaching Namada, Gandhi visited the stalls. He was most anxious to know about the various traditional sweets available.Breaking the security cordon, he had a cup of tea with some spicy pakodas at a small stall. When a Congress leader asked him how the food was, Gandhi offered him a pakoda to taste. On his way to Namada, Rahul also had laddoos at Majri village."The basic aim of the road show is to acquaint Rahul Gandhi with the culture and rich heritage of Punjab. He is an iconic youth leader and his visit to rural areas of Punjab will certainly boost the morale of youngsters here," a Punjab Youth Congress leader, who is accompanying Rahul on this three day trip, told IANS."Youngsters are the future of any nation and I want the youth of Punjab to join politics and serve their community and the country," Gandhi said. Gandhi is expected to cover 17 of Punjab's 20 districts in his three-day trip ending Wednesday.--Indo-Asian News Servicealk/sh/jg450 Words**23091122