Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited his mother Heeraba Modi in Gandhinagar on Saturday to mark her centenary, also writing a long, personal blog post about her life and struggles.
The blog post, translated and released in various Indian languages, speaks in detail about Ms. Heeraba Modi’s life and struggles and the struggles of the Modi family as a whole as they dealt with a scarcity of resources, with Prime Minister Modi’s father, Damodardas Modi selling tea at the railway station in Vadnagar and Ms. Heeraba taking in washing from nearby houses to make ends meet. “Maa...this isn’t a mere word but it captures a range of emotion. Today, 18th June is the day by Mother Heeraba enters her 100th year. On this special day, I have penned a few thoughts expressing joy and gratitude,” tweeted Mr. Modi.
For the first time perhaps, Prime Minister Modi has also described the reaction of his parents to his decision to leave home to travel on his own as a young man. While his father was disheartened and expressed in a terse “do as you wish” it was Mr. Modi’s mother, who persuaded his father to let him go with their blessings. She asked Damodardas Modi to consult an astrologer who told the family that Prime Minister Modi’s “path” was different and to let him go with their blessings. After he left home, Prime Minister Modi said his mother switched from referring to him as “tu” in Gujarat (a reference to someone younger than oneself) to “tame” (a reference to someone senior).
Hidden in the blog, seems to be a pointer to the state of TV debates. Prime Minister Modi writes that his mother likes to keep up to date with news and contemporary developments, and on being asked by him as to how much TV does she watch, “she replied that most people on TV are busy fighting with each other, and she only watches those who calmly read out the news and explain everything.”
A personal blog of this nature is a departure for Prime Minister Modi.
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