10 less known things about Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Narendra Damodardas Modi , popularly known as Narendra Modi is the 15th and current Prime Minister of India. Modi has also served as the Chief Minister of Gujarat state from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from Varanasi at present.

Modi is also credited for BJP's success in 1995 and 1998 Gujarat state election campaigns in which he was a key strategist. He then led the BJP in 2014 general election, which resulted in an outright majority for the BJP in the Lok Sabha. On Modi's 65th birthday, here are a few things you should know about Prime Minister Narendra Modi:

NaMo: From RSS Pracharak to Pradhanmantri

Modi was born in an OBC family of grocers in Vadnagar of Gujarat. In his early days, Modi wanted to become a sanyasi.

NaMo: From RSS Pracharak to Pradhanmantri

Narendra Modi ran away from home after completing his school education. He left his family and went to Rajkot's Ramakrishna mission and to the Belur Math in West Bengal and then finally reached the Himalayas. He wandered aimlessly and stayed with Sadhus for months. After two years of wandering in Himalayas without money and later he suddenly decided to give up ‘Sanyas' life and returned home.

NaMo: From RSS Pracharak to Pradhanmantri

After returning from Himalayas, Modi ran a tea stall with his brother at the State Transport Office in Ahmedabad. That was the time when Modi faced hardship and learnt new things about life.

NaMo: From RSS Pracharak to Pradhanmantri

Narendra Modi is a patriot since childhood. During Indo-Pak war of 1965, Modi, as a 15 year old boy, volunteered to serve the soldiers in transit at the railway stations.

NaMo: From RSS Pracharak to Pradhanmantri

In 1965, Modi began his political career as the kankaria ward secretary of the Jan Sangh in Ahmedabad and in 1985, he was deputed by RSS to BJP.

NaMo: From RSS Pracharak to Pradhanmantri

Modi, whose father ran a tea stall, began his political career as a child volunteer with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a hardline religious and nationalist group, and he rose through the ranks of the Sangh in Gujarat. Modi became a member of the RSS after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

NaMo: From RSS Pracharak to Pradhanmantri

After Modi had received some RSS training in Nagpur, he was given charge of Sangh's student wing, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Gujarat.

NaMo: From RSS Pracharak to Pradhanmantri

Modi loves to write and specially poetry in Gujarati. He writes in Gujarati language and his favourite topics include life and teachings of Hindutva icons. Narendra Modi Loves meditation, Yoga and exercising. He is a big fan of Swami Vivekananda and admires Indira Gandhi.

NaMo: From RSS Pracharak to Pradhanmantri

During 1975-77, when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of the emergency, Modi went underground in Gujarat and to evade arrest was occasionally disguised as a Sikh, saint etc. He also printed and sent booklets against the central government to Delhi.

NaMo: From RSS Pracharak to Pradhanmantri

Reports said that when Narendra Modi was a full-time worker in the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Narendra Modi taught Gujarati to Sadhvi Ritambhara and Sadhvi's guru Swami Parmanand was very fond of Modi's spiritual quest.