Bilateral talks and high powered meetings apart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is looking forward to his two-day visit to Nepal because Jit Bahadur, considered his foster son, will be reunited with his family during this visit.
Ahead of his keenly watched and much debated visit-- the first bilateral trip by an Indian Prime Minister to the neighbouring nation in 17 years -- Mr. Modi on Saturday took to the social networking site Twitter to express why he is keen to visit the Himalayan nation.
He first tweeted in Hindi that he considers himself lucky to have got a chance to visit the famous Pashupathinath temple in Nepal during the ongoing month of Shravan (monsoon). Hindus believe visiting the Temple, which considered as one of Lord Shiva’s abodes is auspicious during the monsoon season, especially on a Monday.
The other reason is also personal. “On a personal note my Nepal visit is very special. Years ago I met a child from Nepal, Jeet Bahadur who did not know where he was headed. I started showing my concern for Jeet Bahadur. Gradually, he took interest in academics, sports & even learnt Gujarati! Thankfully, we were able to locate his parents. I am glad that tomorrow the parents would be reunited with their son,” he tweeted.
On a personal note my Nepal visit is very special. Years ago I met a child from Nepal, Jeet Bahadur who did not know where he was headed.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) >August 2, 2014I started showing my concern for Jeet Bahadur. Gradually, he took interest in academics, sports & even learnt Gujarati!
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) >August 2, 2014Thankfully, we were able to locate his parents. I am glad that tomorrow the parents would be reunited with their son.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) >August 2, 2014According to media reports Jeet Bahadur who is considered the foster son of Prime Minister Modi had landed in Delhi with his brother to look for a job. He accidentally boarded a train to Gujarat and instead of Gorakhpur and was taken to Mr. Modi’s house by a woman.
Jit Bahadur who is pursuing BBA at a college in Ahmedabad was looked after by the Prime Minister, who also helped track his family back in Nepal.
In his tweets Mr. Modi described how from a young boy, who didn’t speak the same language and was unclear about where he was headed Jit Bahadur learnt to speak Gujarati and began to take interest in education and sports. The Prime Minister even shared the anecdote about how Jit Bahadur’s parents were tracked. “It was interesting [tracking his parents]…it was possible because he has six digits on his foot,” the PM tweeted.
