Exclusive | "He Was Very Sharp": PM Modi's Former Teacher Recalls His School Days

Long before he became the Chief Minister of Gujarat and then eventually Prime Minister, Narendra Modi was a sharp student and a quick learner, one of his former teachers has shared.

Speaking to NDTV on the occasion of the prime minister's 76th birthday and completion of 25 years in public service, HC Patel said that every Thursday, the school held social and cultural programmes, where PM Modi delivered speeches on leaders such as Swami Vivekananda.

Patel, who taught PM Modi Mathematics and Science in Classes 10 and 11 at BN High School in Vadnagar from June 1965 to May 1967, also recalled an incident from a school play organised to raise money to build a compound wall. PM Modi played the role of folk hero Jogidas Khuman and performed with a sword while speaking in the Kathiyawadi dialect.

Patel said around 10,000 people watched the performance and gave PM Modi a standing ovation for nearly 10 minutes.

According to Patel, PM Modi wanted to take part in almost every school activity. The only time he would stay away was when an activity clashed with the local RSS shakha, which he regularly attended with around 20 to 25 other youngsters, he said.

Patel also recalled that PM Modi would sometimes bring a Muslim classmate home in Class 11 so they could eat together. He said PM Modi showed respect for people of different religions even during his school days.

He also remembered PM Modi's love for swimming and his adventurous nature. He recalled that Vadnagar's Sharmishta pond was filled with water throughout the year and was his favourite spot to swim. 

He once brought a baby crocodile home from the pond, Patel said, but put it back after his mother, Hiraben, got worried. He also remembered PM Modi helping his father, Damodardas Modi, who ran a small tea stall near BN High School and the railway station.

According to Patel, the tea stall was around 50 feet from a banyan tree near the school. As a young boy, PM Modi would go to the Vadnagar railway station twice a day to sell tea to passengers and help his father.

Patel also shared a memory from the time PM Modi became Gujarat chief minister in 2001. He recalled going to Nandnagar when PM Modi took the oath as chief minister. Patel tried to call out to him, saying, "O Narendra bhai", but PM Modi could not hear him because of the crowd around him.

Someone then told PM Modi that his teacher was calling him. PM Modi came over, met Patel and touched his feet. Patel said he blessed his former student.

Before becoming chief minister, he had publicly acknowledged his former principal, Rasvaidya Maniyar, during an event in Mumbai. In 2005, when he was Gujarat chief minister, he felicitated 26 of his former primary and high school teachers at Gujarat College in Ahmedabad.

Patel recalled that a driver was sent to Visnagar to bring him and his wife to Ahmedabad. The teachers were hosted at a five-star hotel and were given personalised gifts.

The BJP is marking PM Modi's 76th birthday as ‘Seva Diwas' and has planned several programmes across the country to mark his birthday and his 25 years in public service. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will flag off a bike rally from Vadnagar in Gujarat to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

BJP national president Nitin Nabin will perform a puja for PM Modi in Ujjain and will also inaugurate a blood donation camp at the party headquarters in New Delhi. A nationwide cleanliness campaign will also be organised as part of the birthday programmes.