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Their lunch on Wednesday afternoon was a meal that patrons of Aryan, a popular fast food restaurant in Lucknow, would remember for a long time. For it is not everyday that they have Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi for company during lunchtime.
The restaurant staffers, along with the guests, were initially stunned when the Gandhi scion sauntered in to have his lunch.
Gandhi, who was on his way back to Delhi after completing his three-day visit of Amethi, halted at the restaurant to catch a quick bite.
"It was my birthday and I was feeling a bit low as some of my friends could not make it, when I suddenly noticed Rahul Gandhi. My day was made as he not only spoke to us but also happily agreed to pose for photographs," said Saumya Misra.
Priyanka Tandon and her friends, who had organised a kitty-party at Aryan, forgot their plans at the sight of the Congress leader.
"He is so down-to-earth, polite and decent. We still cannot get over the fact that we met one of the top VVIPs of the country," Tandon told rediff.com.
While he was waiting for his order to be served, Rahul made the most of his time by interacting with the other patrons at the restaurant, which was packed to capacity. The restaurant was shut to other customers and even mediapersons, who had flocked to the joint after hearing of Gandhi's visit, had to wait outside.
After a glass of juice, Rahul had paneer-kathi roll, chicken roll, crispy potatoes followed by some fresh lime soda. He also penned down favourable remarks about the food in the visitor's book.
He made a brief stop-over at the governor's residence across the road before travelling to the airport to catch a flight back to Delhi.
Earlier in Amethi, he had visited the local Eidgah and exchanged greetings with members of the Muslim community on the occasion of Eid-ul-Zuha.