NaMo LEADER PAR EXCELLENCE

HOW I BECAME A FAN OF MODI JI - Anu Malik, Music Director

I was performing at Ahmedabad’s Karnavati Club, way back in 2004, when Modi ji was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. I was singing on stage when there was a small commotion at the gate and we heard Modi ji had come. He came in and sat in the front row, listening to my music. I was so happy and excited to have such a guest in attendance that I came down from the stage and sat beside him to express my gratitude for making time. I introduced myself as Anu Malik, and he immediately nodded his head with a smile, saying, I know, I know, I do know you. It was such an honour for me. Many years later, when I again had the opportunity to meet him at the inauguration of HN Reliance Foundation hospital in Mumbai. I remember he gave a wonderful speech at the event enumerating the benefits of Ayurveda, the power of natural medicines and yoga. Later as people lined up to meet the PM, my wife and I went up to Modi ji and reminded him of the brief meeting I had with him at the Karnavati Club. Again Modi ji immediately acknowledged it and said he remembered it very well. He even recalled how I had come down from the stage and sat with him for his blessings. I can never forget these two moments of my life with Modi ji. I became a fan of Modi ji like everyone else around the world.

Modi’s professionalism coexists with individual touch - Vishwanathan Anand, Chess Grandmaster

I was struck by Modi ji’s impeccable professionalism that goes hand in hand with his personal humanitarian touch in everything he does. I remember we were set for a meeting in Gandhinagar regarding the Mind Champions Academy — a programme to introduce chess in schools and we were proposing the same to the Gujarat government. Things moved with clockwise precision. We were shown to the meeting room exactly at 11 and Modi ji, as the CM of Gujarat at that time, joined in soon. The officials were all well instructed and informed beforehand. Everyone was ready with their homework. It was a seamless experience and the meeting lasted just as long as it was needed. There was proper follow-up through emails and other official channels, which gave us point by point details of how we were progressing and which were the areas of disagreement if any.

I remember I once told Modi ji casually that I loved Gujarati meal. He immediately told me, let me treat you to a Gujarati thali and he took me to the state guest house for a sumptuous lunch. Such is his humanitarian approach despite all his professional business. He has a strong human side to all his professional toughness as he laughs, cracks jokes and loves to have fun. His focus at work co-exists so well with his individual attention.

It has become a norm now that the PM will call and congratulate an athlete if he/she achieves something great at the world stage. This is a great motivation for sportspersons to get a call from the PM of the country and this elevates his/her stature. Again this is an instance of the individual touch I mentioned.

I was also surprised by his innovative approach to things. When we organised the mega chess competition (Chess Mahotsav) in December 2010 with 20,000 participants and entered the Guinness Book of Records as the largest such simultaneous display in the world at a single venue, all the table clothes were ordered in black and white colours so that they could create a chessboard pattern. When an aerial shot was taken, the whole stadium sported the look of a chessboard due to the black and white table clothes. Modi ji had visualised the whole thing beforehand and instructed to plan the event accordingly. Also the organisation of the event was flawless. Buses were deployed by the state government to bring volunteers to the venue from all across the state. Even several international grandmasters were invited and hosted by the government to be a part of the event.

Similarly, when the chess olympiad was organised, there was no concept of a rally torch like it happens in the Olympics. But Modi ji, in another display of imagination and his innovative spirit, introduced the concept of a torch rally for the chess olympiad and how it has become an important part of the event. These things really make him stand apart as a leader par excellence.

Modi sahab’s one tweet changed the whole J&K scenario - Darakshan Andrabi, Chairman, Waqf Board J&K

When a delegation of a cream of Kashmiri industrialists, social workers and religious heads met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he listened to them intently and assured them that the problems of Kashmir would be sorted out. He said the footfall in the tourist destinations of Kashmir would be highest. He had a belief and confidence when he said this that we had not seen earlier in any leader and we looked at each other in disbelief. How could tourism rise when no one was willing to be here due to the social situation? But soon after, just one tweet of Modi ji changed the whole scenario of Kashmir. His first tweet was about the famous tulip garden and it garnered millions of views, renewing the world’s interest in it. Tourists started flocking in. He had said religious tourism would be made a reality in Kashmir. Today indeed it is so. This has led us to believe in the truth of the adage, ‘Modi Hai To Mumkin Hai’.

COMPILED AND EDITED BY SHASHIKANT SHARMA