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PM Modi reveals how he learnt Hindi in first podcast with Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath
In the over two-hour-long podcast with Nikhil Kamath, PM Narendra Modi spoke about his childhood and life in politics, among other things.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his first podcast hosted by Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, has revealed how he learnt Hindi. In the over two-hour-long podcast, which was released on Friday on Youtube, the prime minister also spoke about his childhood, life in politics, the importance of ideology and idealism, policymaking and governance, global conflicts, and youth participation in politics, among other things.
On a question about learning Hindi, Modi said he learnt the language while selling tea at a railway station in Gujarat's Mehsana.
Modi told Nikhil Kamath that several dairy farmers from Uttar Pradesh frequently visited the area for trade.
“Around 30-40 of them were always present on the railway platform where I used to sell tea,” Modi said, adding, “Talking to them, I gradually learned Hindi.”
PM Modi on life as CM
In the podcast, Modi also recalled a speech he had delivered as chief minister of Gujarat in which he had said that he would never do anything wrong with bad intentions.
"When I became the chief minister, I gave a speech in which I said, 'I will not shy away from hard work' and 'I will not do anything for myself' and 'I am human who can make mistakes, but I will never do anything wrong with bad intentions.' This is my life's Mantra. Everyone makes mistakes, including me. After all, I am a human being, not some God," Modi said in the podcast.
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He also recalled that his wish when he became the chief minister of Gujarat was to invite all his school friends to his official residence.
“When I became the CM, I wanted to invite my old friends to the CM house... I invited all of them, but I didn’t enjoy it because I was trying to find my friends in them, while they were seeing me as the chief minister,” he said.
The prime minister also advocated for good people to enter politics, stressing that they should come with a mission, not ambition.
Earlier in the day, when sharing the trailer of his podcast on X, Modi said: “I hope you all enjoy this as much as we enjoyed creating it for you!”
