Vinod Chandra shekhar Dixit
It is said that “God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.” Our Prime Minister Modi, before filing his nomination for Lok sabha seat met his mother and took her blessings. It has been years since he has been going to meet his mother every time he visits his home state. Except, a son meeting his 99-year-old mother to take blessings before he embarks on an important journey has made a few ‘liberals' uncomfortable. He spent 10 minutes, wherein Heeraben gave Modi the precious shawl of Goddess Mahakali from the Shakti Peeth of Pavagadh. Modi is close to his mother, whom he visits whenever he's in Gujarat. She lives with his brother Pankaj on the outskirts of Gandhinagar. To maintain his stellar score of 26/26, his mother also gave him Rs 500 as ‘shagun', and ‘kansaar' – a special sweet dish prepared on auspicious occasions. There is no doubt that Modi is a dignified and world class leader .His sanskaras are genuine, and his dedication to the cause of economic development of India, is proved by the number of international awards and accolades he has won . Having a mother is probably God's greatest boon in our lives. It's her love that make us strong, her care that prepare us to face the world, her hands that help us overcome all the trying times of life. Modi's mother Heeraben has spent a big chunk of her life in her ancestral house which is situated in Vadnagar. When her husband took his last breath, she decided to stay in the same abode for a long period of time. She comes across as comfortable with this. It is a relationship built on worship. There is strong adherence to ritual – Modi touches his mother's feet and she blesses him. She can be seen offering him sweets and caressing his face and shoulders.
He dutifully meets her on his birthdays. The only consistent relationship Modi has had with a woman is with his mother. There appears to be harmony here. There is at least an annual visitation, on Modi's birthday. Modi had said at number of times that his mother Heeraben and his father, Damodardas Modi, played a “very big role” in his life. Modi has said that for his mother, the bigger milestone was not when he became the Prime Minister but when he became the chief minister of Gujarat. Modi always recalls the day he met his mother before he took oath as the chief minister of the state. He when he was living in Delhi and when he found out that he is going to get the top job in Gujarat, before the swearing-in ceremony, he went to meet his mother in Ahmedabad, where she lives with his brother. In one of his interview Modi has said “But my mother just looked at me, hugged me and said, ‘The best thing is that you will be back in Gujarat now!' — such is a mother's nature, that no matter what's going on around her, she wants to be close to her children.” He also says that “Even after I have become PM, my roots remain strong and relentless. Back in the day, even if someone told my mother that I got an ordinary job somewhere, she would have distributed mithai to the entire village. So CM-VM nothing matters to her — as long as the human in the Chair strives to be honest and absolute for the country.”
Modi's mother then gave him that one mantra that he says, has stayed with him. She said, ‘Dekh bhai, I don't understand what you do, but promise me you will never take a bribe — don't ever commit that sin.' Those words really impacted me and I'll tell you why. A woman who has lived in poverty her entire life and who has never had material comforts, during an abundant and celebratory time, asked me to not take a bribe.”
But no matter which side of the debate one is on, one can be sure that the sight of 99-year-old Heeraben queuing up with her fellow countrymen, would have made Modi proud.
Don't we think we have got the dynamic, dedicated and determined PM Modi who reflects the aspiration and hope of over a billion Indians with the blessings of his mother?
