Dil ki Baat: Modi, Obama turn 'Mann ki Baat' into gooey love-fest

After the morning’s pregnant-with-hidden-meaning remarks by Barack Obama on the need for religious tolerance in India, the evening’s Mann ki Baat featuring him and Narendra Modi turned into a veritable love-fest between a US President and an India’s Prime Minister. Efficiently RJ-ed by Modi, the Tuesday night radio programme was carefully choreographed to focus on softball issues that few could misinterpret. It was converted into a veritable Dil ki Baat rather than just a Mann ki Baat. Not surprising, since Obama had already spoken what was on his ‘mann’ at Siri Fort , a speech that was read differently by Modi baiters and Modi bhakts . But Modi had no intention of turning his pet programme into a controversial discussion on all kinds of ideas. He deftly anchored the discussion away from hard political topics to gooey, sentimental stuff that could not go wrong. [caption id=“attachment_2068341” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Customers at a radio and tv shop listen to Mann ki baat[/caption] This is not to cynically dismiss the Mann ki Baat as just goody-goody stuff, for we got nuggets of info about Modi that we have never heard of before. Throughout the programme, Modi played generous host to Obama’s courteous guest. Despite the elaborate answers from Obama on everything from bringing up daughters to dealing with obesity to what inspires him to the role of today’s youth in a globalised world, it was Modi who dominated the radio show by bringing in his own heroes, his own anecdotes, and generally presenting us with his softer side. This is not the side we usually get to see of Modi. His reason for bringing out the soft stuff is best explained in his own words: “If we discuss what comes from the heart, and repeat it, hum it, we get a new energy.” (Read the full transcript of their conversation here) Modi’s research team obviously must have done some homework before the programme, for he began by trying to give us the meaning of Barack. He said: “In Swahili language, which is spoken in parts of Africa, Barack means one who is blessed. I believe, along with a name, his (Obama’s) family gave him a big gift.” The reference to Barack’s African lineage allowed him to link an Upanishadic idea with an African one. “African countries have lived by the ancient idea of ‘Ubuntu’, which alludes to the ‘oneness in humanity’. They say, ‘I am, because we are’. Despite the gap in centuries and borders, there is the same spirit in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family), which (we) speak of in India. This is the great shared heritage of humanity. This unites us.” When he lobbed the ball to Obama, the latter talked about how Modi and he were making “a lot of history in a short time.” It was a reference not only to the India-US nuclear and other agreements of the previous two days, but also to the fact that this was the first ever visit by a US president on Republic Day, and the first-ever joint radio programme involving two top leaders of the world’s biggest democracies. A subtle difference in how Obama and Modi saw the world was the former’s efforts to bring in god into the conversation. At Siri Fort, where Obama talked of the need for countries to ensure religious freedom, he had referred to his Christian faith. He said: “In our lives, Michelle and myself have been strengthened by our Christian faith.” In Mann ki Baat, Obama exhorted everyone to “endeavour to seek God through the service of humanity because God is in everyone.” Modi, despite references to Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and Upanishadic ideas, made no direct references to God. Americans apparently need God more than Indians, despite the ubiquity of temples and mosques in India. Also interesting was Modi’s choice of heroes. He mentioned Henry David Thoreau, who inspired Gandhi’s civil disobedience movement, John F Kennedy (Modi liked his personality), Martin Luther King, and, most importantly, Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding figures of America, author, politician, scientist and many other things. Modi had an epiphany after reading Franklin’s biography. “I find his life truly inspiring. And I tell you too, if you read his biography, you will find ways to transform your life too.” What Modi liked about Benjamin Franklin was his ability to talk about everyday issues and how to deal with them. Questions like: “If we feel excessively sleepy, how can we reduce that? If we feel like eating too much, how can we work towards eating less? He has addressed such issues in his biography. And I tell everyone, we should read Benjamin Franklin’s biography. Even today, it inspires me.” What Modi and Obama found they had in common was their humble origins, with both recounting the time when they looked at the White House from the outside, little imagining that one day they would both meet inside it. One of the listeners to the radio programme apparently remarked that he had seen a photo of Modi standing outside the White House when he had gone there as a tourist. The photo apparently shows Modi looking at the White House from outside an iron fence. [caption id=“attachment_2068349” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  PTI[/caption] It gave Modi an opportunity to relate a story about Obama’s gift to him when he went to the White House last September as an official guest. “When I visited the White House, one thing touched my heart. I can never forget that Barack gave me a book, a book that he had located after considerable effort. That book had become famous in 1894. Swami Vivekananda, the inspiration of my life, had gone to Chicago to participate in the World Religions Conference. And this book was a compilation of the speeches delivered at the World Religions Conference. That touched my heart. And not just this. He turned the pages of the book, and showed me what was written there. He had gone through the entire book! And he told me with pride, I come from the Chicago where Swami Vivekananda had come.” Relating the incident also allowed Modi to repeat his favourite phrase that becoming Prime Minister was never his goal. He said: “For a long time, I have been telling everyone, never dream of becoming something. If you wish to dream, dream of doing something. Don’t dream of becoming something, dream of doing something.” Obama, for his part, also talked about his own outside-in look at the White House in his youth. “When I first went to the White House, I stood outside that same fence, and looked in, and I certainly did not imagine that I would ever be visiting there, much less living there. You know, I think both of us have been blessed with an extraordinary opportunity, coming from relatively humble beginnings. And when I think about what’s best in America and what’s best in India, the notion that a tea seller, or somebody who’s born to a single mother like me, could end up leading our countries, is an extraordinary example of the opportunities that exist within our countries.” The only hint of Mann ki Baat’s tangentially political messaging came when Modi talked about Communism in the past tense. He said: “Once upon a time, there were people inspired primarily by the Communist ideology. They gave a call: ‘Workers of the world, Unite.’ This slogan lasted for several decades. I believe, looking at the strength and reach of today’s youth, I would say, ‘Youth, Unite the world’. I believe they have the strength and they can do it. That’s as subtle a put-down of the Left as you can get.