THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rahul would remember April 25 for the rest of his life. Not only did the teenager take a ride in Kerala’s first Vande Bharat train on its maiden trip from Thiruvananthapuram to Kozhikode, he also got a chance to interact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on board the train on that date.
Rahul, who is speech and hearing impaired, was one of the 51 students of the state government-run Sree Chitra Home (SCH) invited for the flag-off ceremony. Of them, nine, including Rahul, travelled in the train. He interacted with the PM with the aid of an interpreter. The PM asked him about his studies. At the end of their conversation, he gifted Modi a painting, of the PM flagging off the train.
“The PM was impressed with Rahul’s paintings. Some other students also presented their paintings to the PM, who signed and returned them,” said SCH superintendent Bindu V.
“Rahul is elated, especially since the PM also patted him affectionately. It was the first time that he attended such a high-profile function. He enjoyed the journey too,” said Bindu. The students deboarded at Kollam station and returned to SCH by a bus arranged by Southern Railway.
Found abandoned at the Thiruvananthapuram railway station, Rahul was brought to the SCH by the police when he was just three or four years old, said Bindu.
“Since he has speech and hearing impairments, we were unable to get details about his native place. We believe his parents could be from north India,” she said.
Now, Rahul has qualified Plus-II and the SCH management hopes he gets a seat at the Fine Arts College here.
“Painting has been Rahul’s passion since childhood. He has a pretty good collection at SCH. We are planning to organise an exhibition,” Bindu said.
At present Rahul is apprenticing at the Magic Planet. He learnt sign language from the NISH. Plus-I student Anjaly, an SCH inmate who knows sign language, helps Rahul interact with outsiders.