‘MODI HAI TO MUMKIN HAI…’ UNTOLD STORIES OF PM MODI - PART 6

MODI’S EXPERIMENTS IN KITCHEN & LESSONS IN ZERO-WASTAGE

Assistant at BJP Office, Rohtak, Deepak Kumar has worked closely for Modiji as his assistant in the Rohtak BJP office. He reminisces an interesting anecdote when PM Modi donned the hat of a chef and with elan. Modiji not only cooked food but served it too with love. But can our PM ever do anything without teaching a valuable lesson? Well, no! That day Modiji imparted a lesson in zero-wastage of food and prepared parathas with leftovers. Deepak shares with us how our PM values personal relationships above everything else.

It was 9.30 in the morning when I heard a tapping at the gate. I opened the gate and it was Modiji. He made straight for the kitchen and asked me for breakfast. I was dumbstruck for a couple of moments. Regaining my composure, I said, “We all have had our breakfast. Unfortunately, we are out of food now.” He looked around and his sight got fixated at a box of pickles at the topmost shelf. I knew what was coming, so I informed him beforehand, “Sir it’s only the masala that’s left. Pickle as such is finished.” Modiji asked me immediately “So what do you do with it?” I said “Sir nothing. It’s just the leftover. We don’t use this.” He then instructed me, “Take out the mixture for me please and chop some onions, finely.” Meanwhile, he kneaded the dough with a dash of leftover pickle mixture and said “Let me make parathas for us!” Then Modiji made terrific pyaz parathas with the spicy dough that both of us relished thoroughly. The lesson he imparted that day was that no food item should get wasted. If we use our creativity and cook with the intention of utilizing food stuffs efficiently, we are sure to come up with some interesting recipes and will get to bond with each other too, over food.

Not just this. Who does not know about our PM’s famous khichdi parathas? He has often recommended the recipe in order to ensure that leftover khichdi does not go waste. Infact, when Modiji was national BJP secretary in-charge of Haryana, he served them to Manohar Lal Khattar who is still a big fan of the recipe.

Modi’s touchstone to gauge people’s spirit

Rupchand Sevkani recalls how PM Modi used to connect with the pracharaks during Emergency in order to carry on the revolutionary work of protecting Indian democracy.

When Modiji was the Sangathan Mahamantri of the State, I was the district Mahamantri. This incident that I am narrating here shows us clearly how Modiji is a born leader. His leadership qualities are reflected in not just the big decisions, but also in the smallest steps he takes for the Sangathan, the party and the country.

Once a sabha had been organised in Ahmedabad during the Emergency. Modiji was present for the sabha but we could see that the chair reserved for the State Mahamantri was vacant. We all were wondering where Modiji could be when someone informed that he was present backstage with the Sangathan workers. We all headed towards the backstage to meet Modiji and find out what he was doing there. The reply he gave at that point was so inspirational that all of us were touched and humbled by his simplicity and greatness. He said, “This backstage is Gujarat. I can gauge the pulse of Gujarat here. I get to meet all the workers of Sangathan and devise strategies for future action. Meeting workers at an individual level will take a lot of time and I only have a few hours to find out what’s happening in the state. This is the right place to ideate.”

Those were the days when the publication of newspapers had been shut and the only way to disseminate information to the workers was through Panjasya Saaptahik. Only one copy was printed and it was passed on from one karyakarta to another in clandestine ways such as hiding the copy beneath the shirt while circulating it. The Panjasya Saptahik carried information about the activities of the Sangh and provided guidelines for the karyakartas to carry on work during Emergency. This weekly guided the karyakartas on ways to protest the wrongdoings of the government, raising one’s voice against the authoritarian regime and also laid down the future of the Sangh once the Emergency was over. The aim was to carry on the dialogue and conversation of the Sangh, even though the branches of the Sangh were shut. In these ways we tried to ensure that the Sangh stayed alive and the flow of information never stopped.

It had not rained enough in Panchmahal Zila and in several districts it was a state of drought. Water was scarce and people were facing severe problems. There was no water or fodder for the livestock either. We requested Modiji to help us resolve these issues who immediately got in touch with the Secretary and the Collector regarding these issues. We met the Collector who asked us about the issues being faced in various pockets and assured us of help and timely action. This is how Modiji bears the hallmark of a true leader- a keen observer, a patient listener, a problem solver and a strategist par excellence.