Visakhapatnam: A 'touching' message, verily!

Visakhapatnam: It's a proud moment for a visually impaired girl Suggu Madhuri from the city.

Her joy knew no bounds when a message, conveyed in a short video, not only went viral on social media platforms but also drew the attention of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Class IX student of the Government Residential School for the Visually-Challenged Girls at Sagar Nagar in Visakhapatnam was saying in the short video tweeted by the Railway Minister, "I can't see the flag, but I can feel patriotism by touching the tricolour." Eventually, the tweet garnered over 2 lakh views, 4,117 retweets, including that of the Prime Minister as on Tuesday evening.

Although Madhuri takes part in the flag hoisting ceremony of the Independence Day celebrations at school every year, it was the first time, the student says, she could wield the national flag and feel it as well. "I felt pretty glad that it's made possible through Har Ghar Tiranga campaign. By just holding the tricolour, I was overwhelmed by patriotism," exclaims Madhuri, a native of Routhu Laxmipuram village, Pathapatnam in Srikakulam.

It was like any other day, when Madhuri came to attend the classes on August 10. But when the Department of Posts gave away the national flags to the students at the premises as a part of Har Ghar Tiranga campaign, little did Madhuri realise that her views about holding the flag would strike a chord with the Prime Minister who retweeted the post with a caption: 'This video offers a glimpse of how deeply every Indian is attached to the tricolour. Truly touching! #HarGharTiranga.'

The Class IX student could hardly control her excitement when school Principal M Maheswara Reddy spoke about the tweets. "The appreciation from the Prime Minister came as a pleasant surprise. I never knew that people would even talk about my views, let alone grabbing the Prime Minister's attention," shares Madhuri with The Hans India during a pre-lunch break.

Of all the subjects, English appears to be Madhuri's favourite subject. Despite her physical impediment, she says that she aspires to be an IAS officer. "I want to bring in a difference, contribute to society by improving infrastructure and resolving issues at the district-level by becoming an IAS officer," she adds.