New Delhi: Prime Minister Modi’s mother Heeraben celebrated her 100th birthday on June 18. Then Prime Minister Modi went to Gandhinagar and worshiped the mother by performing foot puja. He also published memoirs about his mother’s life on the blog. Its essence is as follows:
‘Mother’ is not an ordinary word. That word has a thousand meanings like love, patience, trust. A mother not only gives birth to a child but also nurtures the child’s character and self-confidence. He sacrifices everything for his children.
Like all mothers my mother is very simple and wonderful. We lived in a small mud-walled, tiled single-room house in Vadnagar, Gujarat. There is no toilet or bathroom in that house.
My father built a bamboo fence next to the house. That is our kitchen. My mother used to cook on that pan. She never wasted food.
My father used to sell tea at Vadnagar railway station. He goes to work at 4 am everyday. Just then my mother would wake up. He does all the housework alone. To meet household expenses, he washed dishes at neighbors’ houses. Along with that, he spun yarn in a skein.
The roof of our house leaks during monsoons. Then my mother used to collect rainwater in buckets and pots. He will use that water for household needs for the next few days. Then he collected the rainwater. My mother always prioritized cleanliness. He keeps the house clean with cow dung. He beautifies the house by inlaying pieces of glass on the mud wall and drawing paintings.
I don’t have any assets in my mother’s name. He did not wear gold jewelry and when I decided to leave the house, he blessed me, “Do as your heart tells you.” Before taking over as Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001, I went to meet the mother and seek her blessings.
Then he said, “I don’t know what your government job is. But you should never take a bribe” he advised. After that, whenever we talked on the phone, Anbu ordered, “Don’t do anything, keep working for the poor.” Thus Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared his memories.
