'I kneeled down for blessings, but she hugged me instead'

COIMBATORE: Sabari Venkat, a Class 9 student of Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya at Periyanaickenpalayam, is in a state of deep shock after his favourite leader passed away on Monday.
Visually-challenged, Sabari Venkat received an award from chief minister J Jayalalithaa in February, 2013. Sri Ramakrishna Vijayam, a Tamil monthly magazine, conducted an essay writing competition on the occasion of Swami Vivekananda's 150th birth anniversary.
Over 10 lakh students participated in the competition but Sabari was the only student to write the essay in Braille. He was one among the 10 students who were selected to receive the prize from J Jayalalithaa. "I was given a special prize by the chief minister on February 27, 2013. I kneeled down before her to get blessings. She asked me not to kneel down, hugged me and gave the prize. She also told me that I should become one of the celebrities," said Sabari Venkat.
He added that he tried to meet her again, but he could not get any chance to meet her. Sabari was waiting to meet the former CM after her recovery from Apollo hospital in Chennai. "I was shocked when I heard that Jayalalithaa passed away. I was not able to sleep from Monday evening. It is a big loss for us," said Sabari.