PM Narendra Modi celebrated his mother Heeraben Modi's 99th birthday (File)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a blog post on his mother's birth centenary year highlighted memorable moments from a time when he was a child. PM Modi praised his 99-year-old mother, Heeraben Modi, for showing her family the importance of "finding happiness in other people's joys".
The Prime Minister recounted how the son of his father's friend, who died, came to their house and lived with them.
"Mother would find happiness in other people's joys. Our house may have been small, but she was extremely large-hearted. A close friend of my father used to stay in a nearby village. After his untimely death, my father brought his friend's son, Abbas, to our home. He stayed with us and completed his studies," PM Modi said in the blog post on his official website.
"Mother was as affectionate and caring towards Abbas just like she did for all of us siblings. Every year on Eid, she used to prepare his favourite dishes. On festivals, it was commonplace for neighbourhood kids to come to our house and enjoy Mother's special preparations," PM Modi said.
"Whenever a Sadhu visited our neighbourhood, Mother would invite them to our humble home for a meal. True to her selfless nature, she would request the Sadhus to bless us children rather than asking anything for herself. She would urge them, 'Bless my children so that they are happy in others' joys and empathetic in their sorrows. Let them have bhakti (devotion for the Divine) and sevabhav (service to others)," said PM Modi, who met his mother at her Gandhinagar home on her 99th birthday.
In photos of the family meeting, PM Modi is seen taking blessings from his mother and washing her feet.
In October 2017, PM Modi visited his hometown Vadnagar for the first time since 2014 when he took over the top job in the country. It is the same town in east Gujarat where at a railway station PM Modi used to help his father sell tea when he was a child. The dilapidated tea kiosk has now been renovated and the train station has been beautified.