Narendra Modi: belief

Transcript context

…My birthplace is in Gujarat, specifically in North Gujarat, in Mehsana district, in a small town called Vadnagar. Historically, this town holds great significance, and so Vadnagar is where I was born and completed my early education. Looking at the world as I understand it today, I can reflect on my childhood and the unique environment I grew up in. My village had certain fascinating aspects, some of which are quite rare, even globally. When I was in school, there was an elder in our village who would regularly tell students, “Listen, kids, wherever you go, if you find a carved stone, or you find a stone with inscriptions on it or anything with engravings, bring it and place it in this corner of the school.” Over time, my curiosity grew and I started to understand. I realized that my village had a rich and ancient history. Discussions at school often revealed more fascinating details about its past. Later I learned that China even made a film about it. I had read in a newspaper about a film that mentioned the Chinese philosopher Hiuen Tsang, who had spent a considerable amount of time in my village, having arrived there many centuries ago. Back then, it was a major center for Buddhist learning. That’s how I first learned about it. And perhaps around the 1400s, it was a prominent Buddhist educational hub. There was a victory monument from the 12th century, a temple from the 17th century, and in the 16th century, two sisters, Tana and Riri, who were renowned musicians. As I uncovered these history traces, I grasped the depth of our heritage. So when I became chief minister, I initiated large-scale excavation projects. The findings from these very projects confirmed that thousands of Buddhist monks had at one time studied there. It was a place where Buddhist, Jain and Hindu traditions co-existed harmoniously, and for us, history wasn’t just confined to books. Every stone spoke. Every wall had a story to tell, and so when we began the large-scale excavation work, we uncovered findings that hold immense historical significance. So far, they have discovered evidence dating back 2,800 years, proving that this city has remained unbroken and eternal for all those 2,800 years. They have discovered solid proof of how its development unfolded over these centuries. Now, an international-level museum has been established there, open to visitors, especially for archeology students. It has become a major area of study. So the place where I was born holds its own unique historical significance. I see it as my good fortune. Some things in life unfold beyond our understanding. Kashi became my realm of duty. Now, Kashi is also eternal. Kashi, also known as Benares, or Varanasi, is an eternal city that has remained vibrant and alive for centuries. ld beyond our understanding. Kashi became my realm of duty. Now, Kashi is also eternal. Kashi, also known as Benares, or Varanasi, is an eternal city that has remained vibrant and alive for centuries. Perhaps it was some divine design that led a boy born in Vadnagar to eventually make Kashi his realm of duty, living in the embrace of Mother Ganga. When I think about my family, my father, my mother, my siblings, my uncles, aunts, grandparents, we all grew up together in a small house. The place we lived was likely even smaller than where we are sitting now. There was no window, just a small door. That’s where I was born. That’s where I grew up. Now, when people talk about poverty, it’s natural to discuss it in the context of public life, and by those standards, my early life was spent in extreme poverty, but we never really felt the burden of poverty. You see, someone who is used to wearing fine shoes will feel their absence when they don’t have them. But for us, we had never worn shoes in our lives. So how would we even know that wearing shoes was a big deal? We weren’t in a position to compare. That’s just how we lived. Our mother worked incredibly hard. My father, too. He was extremely hardworking, and he was also extremely disciplined. Every morning around 4:00 or 4:30 AM he would leave the house, walk long distances, visit several temples, and then reach his shop. He wore traditional leather shoes, handmade in the village. The shoes were very tough and sturdy, making a distinct tock, tock, tock sound when he walked. People in the village used to say that they could tell the time just by hearing his footsteps. ” Oh, yes,” they would say, “Mr. Damodar is on his way.” Such was his discipline. He worked tirelessly, late into the night. Our mother too, ensured that we never felt the struggles of our circumstances, but despite everything, these challenging circumstances of living in scarcity never left a mark on our minds. I remember in school, the idea of wearing shoes never even crossed my mind. One day, while I was on my way to school, I ran into my uncle on the way he saw me and was surprised, “Hey, you go to school like this, without shoes?” So at that time, he bought me a pair of canvas shoes and made me wear them. Back then, they must have cost around 10 or 12 rupees. But here’s the thing. They were white canvas shoes, and they would quickly get stained. So what did I do? In the evening, after school was over, I would stay back for a while. I would go from classroom to classroom, collecting leftover pieces of chalk that the teachers had discarded. I would take the pieces of chalk home, soak them in water, mix them into a paste and polish my canvas shoes with it, making them bright white again. er pieces of chalk that the teachers had discarded. I would take the pieces of chalk home, soak them in water, mix them into a paste and polish my canvas shoes with it, making them bright white again. For me, those shoes were a treasured possession, a symbol of great wealth, and I don’t exactly know why, but from childhood, our mother was extremely particular about cleanliness. Perhaps that’s where we inherited that habit, too. Not sure how I picked up the habit of dressing neatly, but it’s been there since childhood. Whatever I wore, I made sure it looked proper. Back then, as you can imagine, we didn’t have any arrangements for ironing clothes. So instead, I would heat up water in a copper pot, hold it with tongs, and press my clothes myself. Then I’d head off to school. That’s how I lived, and I found joy in it. We never thought about being poor, or judged about how others lived or what their struggles were. We lived carefree, enjoying whatever little we had and kept working hard. Never once did we complain about these things. And all these aspects of my life, whether you call it fortune or misfortune, unfolded in such a way in politics that they started coming to light. Because when I was taking my oath as Chief Minister, TV reporters went to my village, questioned my childhood friends, went to capture videos of my home. That’s when people started asking, “Who is this and what background he is coming from?” Before that, very few knew much about my life. That’s just how my journey has been. My mother possessed an innate spirit of caring for others’ well-being. It was woven into the very fabric of her being. She possessed knowledge of traditional remedies and healing practices, and would treat children with these home remedies. Every morning before sunrise, around five o’clock, she would start treating them, so all the children and their parents would gather at our home, little children crying, and we had to wake up early because of it. And we had to wake up early because of it. Meanwhile, my mother would continue treating them with care. This spirit of service, in a way, was nurtured through these experiences. A sense of empathy for society, the desire to do good for others, these values were instilled in me from my family. I believe that my life has been shaped by my mother, my father, my teachers, and the environment I grew up in.…

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