Amid a busy schedule on the second day of his two-day tour of West Bengal, bound for the polls, Union Interior Minister Amit Shah had lunch with a Baul family on Sunday in a remote Bengal village. in the Birbhum district.
The family also organized a live performance. The Bauls are the mystical minstrels living in rural Bangladesh and West Bengal. Before lunch, Shah offered puja at a temple inside the house.
On the menu put together by Basudeb Das and his family, there were roti, rice (cooked from the local paddy variety) with moong daal, fried potato, eggplant and pointy squash, palang saag curry, poppy seed cooked potato, chutney, payesh , papad and rasgulla dipped in brown sugar.
Earlier in the day, Shah first visited Visva Bharati, created by Rabindranath Tagore. After spending about an hour and 40 minutes, he made his way to his lunch although he was late.
“By having a simple lunch with the family of a poor villager while listening to the songs of baul, Shah wanted to send a message that he is very attached to the land of Bengal. I also wanted to send a message that the TMC atrocities would come to an end when the BJP came to power, ”said Anupam Hazra, BJP National Secretary.
Shah was served lunch in clay dishes and bowls and water in an earthenware glass in the courtyard of the house. Neighbors collaborated to help the family of eight prepare lunch from the morning amid tight security measures.
The live performance organized by the Baul artists included a popular song called Tomay Hrid Majhare Rakhbo Chere Debo Na, which simply means “I will keep you in my heart and I will never leave you.”
Top BJP leaders, including State President Dilip Ghosh, National Secretary General Kailash Vijayvargiya, National Vice President Mukul Roy, also had lunch with him sitting on the ground.
In the village, an 11-year-old girl could even be seen playing an ektara (musical instrument) and singing popular songs, all set to receive the Union Minister of the Interior. He wanted to take a selfie with Shah and sing in front of him.
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