Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman takes a break to shop for vegetables in Chennai’s Mylapore

In the time she spent in the vegetable market, she also took selfies and interacted with residents.

Vegetable shops on South Mada Street in Mylapore had a surprise VIP visitor in the form of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday evening. She shopped for vegetables and greens before she left for New Delhi. Sundakkai (turkey berry), pidi karanai (wild yam) and five bunches of mulai keerai (a kind of amaranth) and manathakkali keerai (black night shade) were the items on her shopping list.

A tweet from her official handle said: During her day-long visit to Chennai, Smt @nsitharaman made a halt at Mylapore market where she interacted with the vendors & local residents and also purchased vegetables.

BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan, who accompanied the Union Minister, said that Ms. Sitharaman had first stopped to buy thandu keerai but as it was not available, she bought other greens instead. “Initially the vendors were afraid of looking at the gun-toting security personnel. But then when we explained who she was, the women overcame their scare and even invited her for a cup of coffee in a nearby hotel. But she could spend only 20 minutes there since she had to catch a flight back home,” she said.

Ms. Sitharaman, she added, had spent summers in Mylapore when she was young and knew the place. In the time she spent in the vegetable market, she also took selfies and interacted with residents. She went to the market on her way to Ms. Srinivasan’s home, where she wished Mr. Srinivasan on his 60th birthday, which falls on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, the Minister inaugurated the Ananda Karuna Vidhyalayam, a multi-disciplinary centre for children with special needs at Kallikuppam in Ambattur.