“Yours is a small state, but you have a big heart.”

These words of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru during his last visit to Odisha in 1964, still reverberate in the minds of Odias.

People from various walks of life on Tuesday turned up at the Master Canteen square to pay homage to India's first Prime Minister on his birthday. They garlanded his statue and recalled his contribution to the state. People recalled how he remained confined to the four walls of the Raj Bhavan for six days after suddenly falling sick while addressing a meeting in Bhubaneswar on January 6, 1964.

Veteran Congress leader and former minister Niranjan Patnaik told The Telegraph: “I worked as a voluntary worker for the Congress for its 68th session of the Indian National Congress. The meeting was held at Bhubaneswar. He fell ill within two minutes of his address and was immediately taken to the Raj Bhavan. We suspect it was a mild heart attack.”

Patnaik said: “Nehru along with Indira Gandhi went to Tikarpada in Angul district to lay the foundation stone for a multi-purpose dam on January 5, 1964. Later returned to Bhubaneswar on a chopper. The next morning on January 6, he attended the Congress meeting. But he fell ill. After taking rest six days, he left for Delhi on January 12. We suspect that it was a case of mild heart attack. Illness persisted and later he passed away on 27 May 1964.”

Patnaik said he came in contact with Nehru when he was a Class VIII student. “I was a NCC cadet and Nehru paid a visit to the NCC camp held at Bhubaneswar during his trip to Odisha in 1955. Along with another cadet, I was selected as the stick holder whose job was to pilot the guests near the cadets so that the chief guest could take the salute. Later we escorted him to the car. While getting ready to leave the venue, Nehru patted my shoulder and asked me to be a “good citizen”.”

Patnaik reminiscences: “During college days, I visited Delhi and waited on the road leading to Teen Murti Bhavan to meet Nehru. On the first day, the car in which Nehru was travelling did not halt when I tried to stop the car. The next day, I waited for the arrival of his car. When the car was approaching, I suddenly rushed to the middle of the road. The car came to a halt after 100 metres. Nehru came out of the car and inquired about me. Later he took me to Teen Murti Bhavan in his car, made me sit comfortably and inquired about my visit.”

Rabi Nayak, a gardener in the Raj Bhavan, said: “My father Manguli, who worked as Jamandar in Raj Bhavan, told me how Nehru fell ill during his visit to Bhubaneswar and took rest.”

Former minister Panchanan Kanungo recalled how he attended Nehru's meeting in 1964 where he fell ill. “All the projects that Nehru laid the foundation stones for or inaugurated, still stand tall and speak about the journey of development in Odisha,” said Kanungo.

Nehru first visited Odisha in 1936. His second visit was on April 12, 1948, when laid the foundation stone for India's first major river valley project at Hirakud. On April 13, 1948, he laid the foundation stone for Bhubaneswar. His last visit to Odisha was in January 1964 when he laid the foundation stone for the Talcher Thermal power plant.