NEW DELHI: A small room - with a wooden khatiya, a mattress and lots of cushions, a picture of his guru Swami Vivekanand and a few chairs for visitors - was the modest space Anna occupied during his nine-day stay at the Ramlila Maidan.
Right behind the stage where he would make regular appearances to address the crowd, is this room where Anna spent most of his time - resting, meeting people or just penning down his thoughts. Spending most of the day away from the public eye, the extremely private man, remained enclosed within this makeshift accommodation for close to 10 days.
As one enters the room, what is most striking is the simplicity of the room. While white dominates with white walls, bedsheet and cushions, two Tricolours - one on the wall at the head of the bed and at the other at the entrance - grace the room. On his bedside is a set of personal effects - his clothes neatly folded, a book, a notepad and a pen - which are quickly picked up and packed off as Anna is being taken to Medanta Medicity. Near the foot of the bed is a stick that belonged to Mahatma Gandhi, which Kiran Bedi had gifted to Anna on Saturday.
"Anna would always be writing in his room or reading. Often, people would come to meet him and he would always welcome them warmly," said a volunteer at the Ramlila Maidan.
"His presence in the room lent it a sense of peace that radiates from his personality. We would sit guard outside his room with the security guards, sometimes spending our night on the steps. He always had a ready smile that gave us strength even when we were tired after a long day," the volunteer said.
Anna would always light a diya in his room as a mark of respect for Mahatma Gandhi, said Team Anna members.