I live alone as I left home at early age: PM
| Date :25-Apr-2019 |
NEW DELHI:
Never thought of becoming PM, says Modi, adding that there was a time, when ‘I believed that I would either become a sanyasi or serve the Army’
AMID hectic schedule during election period, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held “candid and completely non political” conversation with Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar which the actor feels would offer a “breather” to the Prime Minister, and help viewers “discover” some facts about Modi. A few hours after the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections voting concluded, Kumar made an announcement on Twitter that he would be engaging in a “candid and completely non political” interaction with Prime Minister. During the informal conversation, Prime Minister said that he does not live with his family because he grew apart from them at an early age.
The Prime Minister told the Bollywood actor that he is not attached to anyone but his mother. “If I had left my home after becoming Prime Minister then I could have missed my family. But I left my home at a very young age and was never very attached to my family,” he said. “I called my mother here, to spend some time with her, but I was not able to do that due to my hectic schedule. I could only manage to share meals with her sometimes as I was busy.
Even my mother felt that I have a very tight schedule and it is not possible for me to spent time with her,” he added. Modi said that he never thought of becoming Prime Minister because there was nothing in his background that could make him think like that. Common people do not believe in such things, he said adding that thoughts (like being the Prime Minister one day) could only come to those who belong to a particular family with backgrounds. “But my family background is one like if I would have got a good job, my mother would have distributed jaggery to the neighbours because we never thought beyond that. We never saw anything outside our village.
“This journey just started and the country accepted me. Responsibilities also came to me automatically. As per my personal view, this (becoming Prime Minister) is unnatural because my life and world does not fit in current political atmosphere. “I always wonder how the country loves me and gives me so much,” Modi told Akshay in an interaction at his 7 Lok Kalyan Marg residence. There was a time, Modi said he believed he would either turn out to be a “sanyasi” (hermit) or serve the Army. The actor also asked Modi about his daily routine, besides his responsibilities, his love for mangoes and his sleep schedule. Kumar started off asking the Prime Minister about his epic love for mangoes. Modi got all nostalgic and told him about how he used to enjoy mangoes as a child.
However, now as the Prime Minister he has to be careful and needs to keep a tab on his diet. Few minutes before the talk went live, a small clip was aired on Instagram. Here, the 51-year-old actor spoke to Modi about his sleep schedules. Modi also gave a peek into his friendship with former US president Barack Obama. “When President Obama and I met, he expressed concern about my sleeping pattern. He asked me why I sleep so less,” Modi said. He added, “(Obama) bole tu aisa kyun karta hai? Tujhe aaj pata nahi hai yeh tera nasha hai kaam ka, tum karte rahoge, lekin tum bohot apna nuksan kar rahe ho. (Obama told me that I am a workaholic and that I am harming myself).” The first meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Obama was held in 2014 in Washington and the two leaders struck a bonhomie. In one of his media interactions, Obama referred to Modi as “my good friend, Prime Minister Modi”. “Whenever he (Obama) meets me, he asks whether I have increased my sleep timing or not,” said Modi. When asked by Kumar, if he gets angry, Prime Minister Modi replied, “I do not express my anger as it leads to negativity.”
The Prime Minister explained, “Over the years I have trained myself in a way that I do not express anger, instead, I try to get best out of the situation by inspiring others”. On being asked by Kumar that PM Modi is known for his strictness, He said, “I am strict and disciplined but I do not get angry or insult any person.” He asserted that “being strict, disciplined and getting angry are two different things.” PM Modi further explained, “If something unpleasant happens, then I write about it on a piece of paper and then tear that paper. I repeat the process again till the time I calm down. By doing this I feel that I have vent out my anger, in the end I tear the papers.” The Prime Minister said that he has many “good friends” in the Opposition and added that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sends personally-selected Kurtas and sweets to him. “I have many good friends in the Opposition.
We do eat food together once or twice a year. Long time back when I was not even the Chief Minister (of Gujarat), I had gone to Parliament for some work. There Ghulam Nabi Azad and I were having a friendly conversation. When we came out media people asked, how can you be friends with Azad as you belong to RSS. Ghulam Nabi gave a good answer. Hum dono saath khade se, bola dekho bhai bahar jo aap log sochte ho, aisa nahi hai. Shayad ek family ke roop me hum log jitne jude hue hain sabhi dal ke log, wo shayad bahar kalpana nahi kar sakte (While we two were standing, he said that what you people think outside, it’s not like that. Maybe the way we the people of all the organisations are connected as a family it can’t be imagined outside),” Modi said during an interaction. “Mamata didi saal me aaj bhi mujhe ek-do kurte wo khud select karne jati hain (Even today Mamata didi herself selects one-two Kurtas for me in the year). She sends one-two Kurtas for me. Even Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sends sweets to me three-four times in a year especially from Dhaka.
When Mamata didi got to know this, then she also sends sweets for me one or two times in a year,” he added. Interestingly, Mamata has mostly been critical about Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA Government and has openly opposed their various initiatives including Goods and Services Tax (GST) and demonetisation. Unlike the current generation which turns to allopathic medication for even something as small as cold, cough or headache, Prime Minister Modi relies on Ayurveda. In the interview, Prime Minister Modi shared his personal ‘nuskas’ which he uses to combat common cold, take care of his skin and sooth body pain. The treatment of common cold and cough always lies in simple home remedies. PM Modi revealed that he treats his cold by drinking hot water and observing a fast to get rid of the illness. PM Modi also spoke about the benefits of mustard oil when battling cold and said, “I use mustard oil to treat my cold.
I warm it a bit at night and put a few drops in my nostrils at night. It burns a bit, but it helps. The oil clears my congestion in just two days.” When asked about memes on heim, the Prime Minister said that he enjoys watching memes made on him and appreciates the creativity. “I enjoy it. I see ‘Modi’ less in it and creativity more... The biggest benefit of social media for me is that I get to see and understand the creativity and psyche of the masses. Social media gives me something which is entirely different from what is otherwise available,” Prime Minister Modi said. “There are few people who intentionally do it. At that time if you keep yourself stable, then that person’s intentions fail. If you react and respond to them, then they get happy,” he added. Modi said that he avoids using humour as he fears that his comments could be twisted and misinterpreted. “I have always used humour to lighten a difficult situation. But nowadays I fear that my words will be twisted and misinterpreted,” he said. “I still joke around with my friends and officers,” he added.