600 villagers to attend oath-taking ceremony

AMRAVATI: The Presidential battle in New Delhi may not be over yet. But in the sleepy village of Chandrapur-Khallar, 50 km from Amravati, arrangements for a modest celebration are already in place. For, the village ‘bahu’ is set to make history!

The neat and clean village of 600, inhabited mostly by the Shekhawats, is gearing up to acquire a new status as the home of India’s next President, Pratibha Patil.

And though it is sowing season for the farmers, the entire village is ready to board the train and go to New Delhi to see their ‘tai’ take oath of India’s biggest office. “We’ll be there,” says Roopsingh Shekhawat, one of Pratibhatai’s brothers-in-law. Excitement, he smiles, is in the air here.

The Shekhawats are a close-knit Rajput family - and an extended one. “It’s a big family and there’s always some or the other function every year, and Tai makes it a point to attend all such important occasions,” says Roopsingh’s wife, Sandhya. “Despite being busy with her political commitments, she has maintained her dignity,” she remarks.

For the young ones, she’s an icon. “She brought education to women in the family, changing thier lives,” informs Raghuveer Singh Shekhawat, 81, Pratibha’s elder brother-in-law. “She has been a staunch supporter of women’s education and particularly tells girls to go for higher education; and presses for quality in institutions.”

The Sarpanch of the village says: “Our village has got everything - school, primary health centre, a bank, cotton collection centre and love, and it is all because of Pratibhatai. We will all go to New Delhi the day she takes oath.”