Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to share a picture of a seven-month-old Chandigarh girl, Navveha Soni, holding a placard, urging people to stay at home amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The placard reads: “Agar main maa ke garbh mein 9 mahine reh sakti hoon, to kya aap Bharat maa ke liye 21 din ghar nahi reh sakte? (If I can stay in my mother’s womb for 9 months, can’t you stay at home for 21 days for our Mother India?) Stay Home, Be Safe”
Sharing the photo, Modi wrote, “Dilchasp aur bhaav bhi bahut gehra (Interesting and also deeply emotional).”
After imposing the 21-day lockdown, the PM is constantly appealing to the people to stay at home through social media platforms. It was as a part of this, that he shared the picture of the girl on Twitter on Sunday.
ENGINEERING AN IDEA THAT CLICKED
Navveha’s father, Navdeep Soni, 27, who is an engineer and works for the Chandigarh administration, says, “We are simple people and are ecstatic and proud that we were able to send out a strong message through our daughter, which was shared by many leaders, including PM Modi and Union railways minister Piyush Goyal.”
On the idea behind the picture, he says, “A few days back, my wife (Dr Neha Verma, 27) and I were cooking and got into a discussion about how a child stays in a mother’s womb for nine months and here people are finding it hard to stay at home for just 21 days, that too for their own safety.”
{{/usCountry}}On the idea behind the picture, he says, “A few days back, my wife (Dr Neha Verma, 27) and I were cooking and got into a discussion about how a child stays in a mother’s womb for nine months and here people are finding it hard to stay at home for just 21 days, that too for their own safety.”
{{/usCountry}}“So, we made the placard and clicked some pictures. We had no idea the picture will go viral. We had just shared it with friends through WhatsApp and Facebook. Then, somebody called us up to inform that Piyush Goyal tweeted the picture and we felt really proud,” he said.
“On Sunday, when the Prime Minister tweeted Navveha’s picture, we were over the moon. We are honoured and it’s a very special moment for the family,” he added.
Since being tweeted by the PM, the picture has already garnered over 35,800 retweets and 2.21 lakh likes.