My grandma taught me to face darkness: Rahul

{image-rahul gandhi_05072008.jpg news.oneindia.in}Bhopal, Jul 5: Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on Saturday, July 5, exhorted school children to confront adversities courageously and lend voice to their curiosity by inculcating the habit of asking questions.

The Amethi MP seemingly took a cue from his great grandfather and India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's words 'Be brave, and all the rest follows', while addressing children of the 'The Sanskaar Valley School' on the city's outskirts. ''When I was a six-year-old, I used to be very scared of darkness. My grandmother (Indira Gandhi) asked me to face the thing that I feared. I practised my grandmother's advice and overcame my trepidation by going into dark places.

''In life also we should face adverse situations bravely,'' he said in his 20-minute speech after inaugurating two hostels 'Prerna' (for girls) and 'Kshitij' (for boys) of the School that was formally inaugurated by Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Tata scion Ratan Tata in 2006.

Narrating another incident of his schooldays, the Amethi MP said that he used to ask questions to his teachers about various things that intrigued him and one of his teachers replied to many of his 'whys' later even if the teacher did not know the answer immediately.

''One should always keep one's mind open to know about different kinds of things,'' Rahul suggested.

Revealing his interest in pugilism, he cited a third incident in the latter part of his life when he bravely took on a strong boxer against whom he had no chance of winning. Mr Gandhi's hesitation was countered by his coach who inspired him to face the challenge boldly and willpower helped him win.

''We can transform weakness into triumph on the anvil of sheer willpower in politics and other fields of life too,'' he added.

Mr Gandhi gave away prizes to students for their excellence during the previous academic session.

Earlier, he interacted with the school children for more than half-an-hour.

UNI