SRINAGAR: When Farooq Abdullah turned up in bright red for a Christmas party, heads turned. It’s not an easy colour to carry off, particularly for an octogenarian, but then Abdullah has always had a certain flair, a flamboyance, quite in contrast to his son Omar Abdullah who is restrained and measures his words.
Politics runs in the family. Farooq’s father, Sheikh Abdullah, was popularly known as Sher-e-Kashmir, or Kashmir’s Lion. He founded the National Conference, was the state’s prime minister before the J&K constitution was amended, and later served as its chief minister.
Farooq Abdullah’s friendship with Rajiv Gandhi was well known, as was its souring. There are stories about how he took Rajiv Gandhi to see the saffron fields in Kashmir, just as there are stories about his motorcycle rides. Even as chief minister, he threw protocol to the wind and crisscrossed Srinagar on motorcycle, often taking a guest along as pillion rider: “I would love to do a mobike tour of India someday,” he says Hindustan Times reported.
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