Modi's Visionary Odyssey!

A Kashmiri farmer's sweet memories of PM Modi - Irshad Hussain Naikoo, Farmer, Anantnag, Kashmir

I had a deep wish to meet Modiji. But I didn’t have the wherewithal for the same. I thought of several options and finally started to save money with the hope that with my savings I might be able to do something for the PM someday, which could bring him closer to me. I started saving in 2013 and persisted with it for the next 4-5 years to live my dream of meeting the PM.

Finally, when I had enough money, an idea struck me. In our culture, the ‘pheran’ holds an important place. I planned to make a Kashmiri pheran (long gown) for the PM. I bought the best clothes for it, but the problem was getting the right measurements. I had no idea what the PM’s exact cloth measurement was to make the pheran fit him perfectly. Then I remembered that my father’s body structure closely matched Modiji’s. I then took my father to the tailor’s shop and asked the tailor to make a pheran of his size.

After a few days, I received the pheran from him and soon started off for Delhi with the gift for the PM. I was worried as to how the gift could be delivered to the PM. My only option was to walk to the PM’s official residence, even though there was heavy security there. I reached there anyway and told the security men that I was from Kashmir and I wanted to present this gift to PM Modi. The security men told me there was no permission for anyone to go in, and they could not allow it. Disheartened, I returned to Kashmir and then sent the pheran by courier to the PM. A few days later, I got a call from the PMO. I had also sent a letter to the PM along with the gift, mentioning my purpose and also my address and phone number. So, someone called me up from there and asked me about my previous effort to meet the PM in Delhi. When they had the details, the person on the call told me that the PM was wearing the pheran sent by me, and he was delivering a speech in Srinagar with the same attire. I was elated at this news. I was on my farm in my village and had no idea that Modiji was in Srinagar. I came back home in the evening and asked my friend to show me the video clip of the PM’s speech if it was available somewhere on the internet. I wanted to see my favourite person wearing my gift. What PM Modi has done for the poor, we can never thank him enough. We only want Kashmir to progress the way Gujarat has done under Modiji.

Opportunity in adversity, the Himachal story - Kishan Kapoor, MP, Lok Sabha

Narendra Modi is emotionally attached to Himachal Pradesh. He was at one time the party in charge of the state. On his way to Dalhousie from Shimla, he had to make an unscheduled landing at Gaggal airport due to bad weather. I reached there when I learned about the incident. The first thing on Modiji’s mind at that time was public connection. As soon as I reached there and met him, the first thing he asked me was if a public meeting could be arranged at the place. This also struck me as impeccable time management. Modiji is a man who won’t waste a single minute and makes fruitful use of any spare time he has in hand. This is something we all can learn from him. He was ready for the public meeting at Dharamsala, which we put in place in just half an hour, and he addressed an enthusiastic crowd.

Modi's love for the bullet train has far deeper objectives - Mayur Shah, Indo-Japan Relations Expert

The bullet train in India is fast inching towards reality, but way back in 2007, no one in the country could have even thought of its possibility, though Narendra Modi was already dreaming of bringing the train to India.

During his Japan visit in 2007, when Modiji travelled the Shinkansen, as the super-speciality train is known in that country, he was deeply interested in learning all the nitty-gritty of the operational efficiency and success of the train.

The fact is, it was not just for the thrill of it; his interests lay deep beneath the surficial glitter. Modiji knew that the future of development was here. He understood before the time that the bullet train was to be an important condiment of urbanisation back in his own country. The bullet train for him was and is never about the building of a train per se. It is the overall development that the train is likely to bring. It is about developing cities on the way to the train that drove him. Therefore, he dove deep into the whole running of the system and how it could be replicated in India. Modiji was perhaps the first Indian dignitary who, on his request, was allowed to enter and travel in the cockpit of a highprofile train. Normally, no one is allowed in.

Once inside, Modiji had numerous questions to the experts on how the train was operated in an earthquake zone that Japan was in. He asked about primary and secondary signals, the gap between the two, what the failsafe mechanism was, and how the infrastructure was built. Overall, it was a very engrossing and informative conversation that was very relevant for applications back in India. Even during his 2012 visit to Japan, he and then-Japanese PM Shinzo Abe had a meeting sitting on the bullet train.

COMPILED AND EDITED BY SHASHIKANT SHARMA