On day two of his visit to the State, Rahul Gandhi surrounded by young leaders such as Dinesh Gundu Rao and Krishna Bhyre Gowda, went out on a safari for almost one hour 45 minutes, in the early hours of Wednesday. This, despite the fact that he had gone to bed at 2 am previous night, after spending time with members of Sollepura Hadi, en route to Nagarahole.
After a simple dinner of rice and dal, Rahul also sat through a slide show presented by Praveen Bhargav of Wildlife Conservation Society, based in Bangalore. He woke up at 6 am on Wednesday, had tea fifteen minutes later, and set out for safari at sharp 7.50 am. 
“He played the curious onlooker all through the safari. He heard alarm calls of animals when they sight spotted dear or tiger and saw tiger’s pug marks. He saw bisons, deers, stripe necked Mongoose and he was delighted to sight langoors and rare birds. He wanted to understand the relationship between birds and ecological balance of the forest. Rahul was a patient watcher, not in a hurry to see everything at one go!” said Praveen Bhargav who had accompanied him on the safari.
‘Three’ point questions
He held an interactive session with a group of 12 environmentalists and young leaders. The topic of discussion was, again, the forest and tribal community. “He seemed to grasp everything very quickly. He posed interesting questions. He wanted to know three major problems faced by tribals and three top issues affecting the forests and green cover. Rahul sounds promising as a young leader,” said Dr Yellappa Reddy, famed environmentalist who was part of the group. Wildlife photographers Kripakar - Senani, politician N L Narendra Babu, Ajay Desai, Sanjay Gubbi and Bhargav were among others who met the young Gandhi.
After the discussion, much to the disappointment of his supporters waiting to garland him outside, Rahul Gandhi left for Hunsur helipad and flew to Mangalore.


HISTORY REPEATS

History repeated when India’s blue-eyed boy of politics, spent Tuesday night at the same cottage which once hosted his grandmother Indira Gandhi, almost three decades ago. “Did Indiraji record anything in the register for visitors?” he reportedly asked the staff members there. They replied in the negative.  As for him, using black felt pen, Rahul wrote in in running letters slightly leaning towards left: “Thank you for a very interactive morning. I look forward to coming back for a more extended visit. Keep up the good work” and signed it.