Switch Editions? Copy Share URL. Channel: Maddy's Ramblings. X Are you the publisher? Claim or contact us about this channel. Remove ADS. Viewing all articles. Page 1 Page 2 Page Last Page. Browse latest View live. No, I am not talking about any of his rumored links, but the bright red rose he pinned to the lapel of his achkan. Nehru was insistent that it was always bright red and not pale in color. Also it was never yellow as some books mention. So what is the story behind it? Was it an event that got him to carry on with the habit, was it a woman or some women?
We talked about Gandhiji and his austerity, as well as his loin cloth wearing and the reasons behind that. But Nehru always wore an immaculate Achkan sherwani like coat with the Gandhi cap and the telltale bright red rose and at times a small cane with a silver head. Nehru, his ackkans and the red rose became inseparable after he became prime minister. When the motorcade finally wound its way through the streets, it passed directly in front of our house.
Then something remarkable happened. My mother had found a place in front of the crowd. Earlier she had confided to us that she was certain Nehru would notice her among the tens of thousands thronging his route, and although we had teased her, her confidence remained unshaken.
And when the moment came, she actually did catch Nehru's eye! He paused for a second, and then reached for the single red rose he always wore in his lapel.
He tossed it to her. Even in all the tumult my mother caught it, and when the parade was over, she took it inside and carefully placed it in her best vase. All that afternoon our house wad filled with people coming over to marvel at the rose, the kind you could buy in the market stall for a few rupees. But because Nehru had thrown it with his own hands, it had taken on his mystical status.
