Prime Minister Narendra Modi's former school teacher recalled his sharp memory and an incident from his childhood in which he brought home a baby crocodile, only to return it to a lake after his mother advised him to do so.
H C Patel, who taught Modi science in Classes 11 and 12 at Bhagwat Acharya Narayan Acharya School in Vadnagar, said he taught the future prime minister between June 1965 and May 1967.
Speaking to the media, Patel also recalled Modi's participation in a school play, in which he portrayed 19th-century rebel Jogidas Khuman. The play was staged to raise money for the construction of the school's compound wall and received around 10 minutes of applause from the audience, he said.
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Patel also recounted a well-known story from Modi's childhood involving a baby crocodile. According to him, Modi once brought the animal home after finding it in Sharmishtha lake.
Modi's mother, Heeraba, questioned why he had brought the crocodile home and asked him to consider what would happen to its mother. Following her advice, Modi returned the baby crocodile to Sharmishtha lake the next day, Patel recalled.
Patel said Modi retained a strong memory even years later. In 2012, Modi, who was then Gujarat chief minister, accepted an invitation to attend a temple consecration ceremony in Patel's native village.
"He has a very sharp memory," Patel said, adding that while he had taught Modi as a student, he had never imagined that he would rise to become such a prominent figure.
Patel also recalled that when he once approached Modi, after he had become chief minister, seeking help with the transfer of a relative, Modi politely declined the request.
"We had no idea back then that this person would rise so high and achieve so much," Patel said. He added that before Modi became chief minister, he had asked Modi's younger brother Pankaj about the possibility, but had been told it was unlikely.
Patel said he now prays for Modi's good health so that he can continue serving the country and the world in the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', or the idea that the world is one family.
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