Punching bag or writing therapy? How PM Modi manages his anger

On being asked by Kumar about his strictness persona, the PM said, “I am strict and disciplined but I do not get angry or insult any person.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday gave some tips on managing anger, in an interview with actor Akshay Kumar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday gave some tips on managing anger, in an interview with actor Akshay Kumar. (BJP4India/Twitter)

“Anger entails negativity… I do not express my anger,” the PM told Kumar in a frank and free non-political interview. “Over the years, I have trained myself to not express anger, instead, I try to get the best out of the situation by inspiring others”, the PM told Kumar in probably his first interview on everything except politics.

When actor Akshay Kumar said he vent his anger on the punching bag or by going to the sea side, the PM said: “There is another way of dealing with it. I used to write a detailed note of unpleasant incidents and then tear it and throw it away. I repeated this several times and by the end of it, I usually had a different perspective of the whole incident. It helped in self-realisation.”

Watch | LS elections 2019: PM Modi, Akshay Kumar full interview

On being asked by Kumar about his strictness persona, the PM said, “I am strict and disciplined but I do not get angry or insult any person.”

He added that “being strict, disciplined and getting angry are two different things.”

In the “candid and completely non-political freewheeling conversation”, the actor also asked the Prime Minister whether he ever wishes to spend time with his mother, his brother and other relatives. He also asked whether he eats mangoes and was actually a true Gujarati.