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Akhilesh Yadav, the man who reversed the battered Samajwadi Party’s fate in Uttar Pradesh, has spent some of his best days as a student in Mysore, studying civil engineering before proceeding to Australia for MS in environmental engineering. 

The roti-loving, Kannada-speaking Samajwadi Party leader roamed the streets of the Heritage City between 1990 and 1994 in his modest Gypsy jeep, bearing DBB 11 registration number.

He shared a small house with three friends in the suburbs. He was fond of “Mysore Pak,” tees and loose-fitting trousers. He had a hesitant smile.

He enjoyed late night rides/drives to Chamundi Hills and frequented friends’ houses for “ghar-ka-khana.” He savoured evening coffee at Indra’s Sweet ‘n’ Spice on Kalidasa Road.
Akhilesh was also conspicuous by his low-profile presence at Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering.

At college, Akhilesh was an “above average,” polite student, who mostly stayed with a close group of friends. Vice-Principal Shakib-Ur-Rehman, whom Akhilesh met in the capacity of his “counsellor,” said: “For a long time none knew Akhilesh was the son of the then Central minister and prominent politician Mulayam Singh Yadav. He was very rooted and always stayed with the same set of friends. He wasn’t bashful. He was happy to be left alone. He was fiercely protective of his privacy.”

Haseena Sharieff, mother of Akhilesh’s friend Mohammed Ashraf Geelani, has fond memories of the “lanky boy” who often visited her house. Though he stayed in a rented house at Vijaynagar, he often came to Ashraf’s house. If there were guests, Akhilesh would make himself comfortable in the garage to study.

“He had no hassles squatting on the floor. It was fun to watch them speak in Kannada since most of Akhilesh’s friends were from outside Karnataka and had learnt functional Kannada,” says Haseena, who has long been associated with the Congress as district general secretary.

Akhilesh had a fairly good knowledge of mild “slang” words in Kannada.
Ashraf, Akhilesh and friends celebrated Holi. Akhilesh loved travelling and toured almost all “touristy” places which could be reached by road from Mysore. “Ooty, Srirangapatna, Coimbatore, Kodai...they went about travelling in his jeep. Akhilesh never displayed any pride of being a son of the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh,” she added.

There were times when Akhilesh didn’t mind sweeping the room and making the bed for himself at Haseena’s house when there were relatives. “When we had too many relatives during festivals, Akhilesh would simply go to the garage, sweep the space and sit down for studying with my son. He valued time and relationships beyond everything else,” she revealed. He sometimes sat at the cash counter of the nearby restaurant run by Haseena’s son.

Facebook is agog with friends and family celebrating Akhilesh’s victory. Adarsh N C, a NatGeo photographer, often met Akhilesh during evening “chai time” at Indra’s ‘Katte’ (sitting block). “He still continues to be simple and highly approachable. For the first two years of his stay in Mysore, he stayed all by himself with friends. It was only after threats were issued to his father that Akhilesh was given SPG protection. Akhilesh’s feat is great news. But, I can still talk to him as a friend. It continues till date,” he said.
Akhilesh is a father of three girls.