Narendra Modi turns 70: A look at India's humble prime minister's childhood

New Delhi, Sep 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has turned 70 today. Way before joining politics, PM Modi's childhood reveals that he had the makings of a great leader.

Born on September 17, 1950, to Damodardas Mulchand Modi and Hiraben Modi, Modi grew up in poverty but refused to be suppressed by it.

The boy who helps his father in tea shop, had the approach and inclination of a leader who went on to become the prime minister through hard work, tenacity and sheer strategic thinking.

The kabaddi match

Once during a intra-school kabaddi match At B N High School in Vadnagar, where Modi studied, was asked to devise a strategy for the team. Modi started studying the tactics of the dominant team which had players from higher classes. He noted their winning moves and trained his own team accordingly and the team won the match. Alike the child, Modi is known for hijacking the agenda of the opposition parties.

The play

Modi once saw a priest yelling at an untouchable woman. The incident shaked him so much that he wrote and staged a play on the same in school. The play highlighted the plight of a woman who couldn't enter the temple for being an untouchable. Modi himself comes from a low caste of Teli Ghanchi. With Modi's tendancy to social justice in the nation, B R Ambedkar has become an important icon for BJP.

The fearless boy

Modi used to play with crocodiles. Once he brought a baby crocodile home but had to put it back in the lake as his mother objected. He then swam through the crocodile-infested lake to hoist a flag atop a temple. Daring childhood tales pointed at a daring future leader who would not be afraid of taking risks for the sake of the country's good. This ruling party under Modi's leadership never bow down before the neibouring countries tactics and pressure.

The journey from railway station to being prime minister

Modi used to help his father who sold tea at the Vadnagar railway station. After becoming the prime minister he has led the great country re-establishing its mythological, cultural and spiritual traditions. India received global recognition through Namami Gange, Vishwa Yoga Day, laying of the foundation stone of Shri Ram temple at Ayodhya, and the conduct of a grand Prayag Kumbh. Modi's superhuman effort fruited getting Yoga recognised by the United Nations, which declared June 21 as International Yoga Day.

Image Courtesy: www.narendramodi.in