While we’re all familiar with PM Modi’s background as a chaiwallah before he joined politics, in Humans of Bombay’s latest post, the current Prime Minister goes into a detailed account about what his childhood was like and how he came to become a politician; let alone the PM of India.
From living in a small house and selling tea in his father’s tea stall to becoming the Prime Minister of the country, he talked about his humble beginnings.
Modi opens up about their 40×12 ft house which, he recounts, was sufficient for a family of 8. His day would start at 5 in the morning when his mother provided traditional forms of curing and healing to newborns and small children.
“She didn’t have the fortune of getting an education, but God was kind and she had a special way of curing ailments. Mothers would line up outside our house every morning because she was known for her healing touch.”
He recounts that his formative years were about balancing studies with non-academic life to spare time for work.
“I would open my father’s tea stall at the railway station, clean up and head off to school. As soon as school ended, I would rush back to help him, but what I really looked forward to was meeting people from all over the country.”
Being at the tea stall he got the opportunity to listen to the stories of several people who stopped by. He would also hear traders talk about ‘Bambai’ and wondered if he will ever get to see the city of dreams.
He had his first tryst with politics at the age of 8 when he attended his first RSS meeting.
“I was 8 when I attended my first RSS meeting, and 9 when I was a part of an effort for the betterment of the lives of others – I set up a food stall with my friends to help the victims of the floods in parts of Gujarat. I wanted to do more, but I was aware that we had little means.”
Although his family couldn’t afford an iron, even as a child, he always found a way to satisfy his urge of looking sharp and well-dressed.
“I would heat some coal, use an old ‘lota’, wrap a cloth around it and press my clothes – the effect was the same, then why complain?”
He trails off by saying,
“So if you ask the 8 year old Narendra Modi, running around serving chai and cleaning his father’s tea stall, whether he even dared to dream about becoming the Prime Minister of India, his answer would be no. Never. It was too far to even think about.”
Read the complete post here.
