Summer of '93: Check out young Narendra Modi hanging out in US

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in New York on Friday night in his first visit to the US after he became Prime Minister. The visit is also significant, because in 2005 the US denied Modi a visa to the country, because of his perceived role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. Many assume therefore that this will be his first visit to the country. However, it should be pointed out that this won’t be his first visit to the country. In fact he’s returning to the city after having spent some time there in 1990’s as a pracharak. Pictures of PM Modi’s US visit in the 1990s are circulating all over the Internet and news channels, and a simple Google search will show that these images are the latest buzz. You can check out some photos here and a video  here. Photos of Narendra Modi riding a bike, enjoying a boat ride, a day on the beach and one of him with the Universal Studios sign in the background are doing the rounds.  But perhaps one image that will probably get shared a lot is one of Modi with a group of friends outside the White House, given that on this visit Modi himself will be a guest himself there. The rare photos show a rare touristy side to the Prime Minister, who always portrays an image of more ‘business’ than ‘pleasure’. [caption id=“attachment_1730795” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Narendra Modi outside the White House in a visit to the US in 1993.[/caption] In most of the pictures, you can see the future-PM, who is now known for his natty and sharp dressing sense, roaming around the country in a plain kurta- pajama. Although he’s clean-shaven with a lot more hair. An Indian Express quotes Dr Panna Barai, the wife of  Dr Bharat Barai and the man who is organising the Madison Square Garden rally for PM Modi, recounting Modi’s 1993 visit to their home. She told the paper that Modi he had come with “only two-three sets of cotton kurta-pyjamas and would request her to keep one change ready for the next day.” It’s only in the picture outside the Universal Studio that we see him in a full-sleeved shirt and pants, which is a rare sighting indeed, given that the PM is now usually seen in bandh-gala suits or silk kurtas and Nehru jackets. According to a Times of India report, New York was like a “second-home” for Narendra Modi “who stayed for weeks at a time in the US as a party apparatchik tasked with spreading the gospel of the sangh parivar in America.” The report quotes Suresh Jani, an old Modi associate who knew him from when he was an RSS pracharak as saying, “In everything he (Modi) did here, he had India on his mind.” The report adds that “Modi stayed with the Janis in their Jersey City home.” Modi’s visit to the Statue of Liberty in New York, it appears had a strong impact on him and Jani told TOI that Modi asked “why something like that could not be done in India.” No real coincidence then, that the PM has announced a plan to build a bigger statue of Sardar Patel near Vadodara. As a pracharak, Narendra Modi also visited Chicago, Boston, Texas and California. [caption id=“attachment_1730797” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A picture of Modi outside Universal Studios. Image from Imgur.[/caption] It seems Modi also had a tough time in following his diet regime in US. The PM is vegetarian and also doesn’t eat onions and garlic. The report quotes Prakash Swamy, a journalist recalling how when he invited Modi and Govindacharya (the RSS leader who eventually sent Modi to join the BJP) for a meal, Modi drank more rasam since he felt that a “liquid diet” was better for him. Interestingly this US visit of the PM is also coinciding with Navratra for which he will be fasting.  According to this Indian Express report, while there are “elaborate menus for a private dinner at the White House and a reception by the Indian Ambassador to the US are ready,” PM Modi is likely to give these a miss. Earlier reports said he would be sticking to a lemonade and tea diet. Interestingly in 2005, Modi was he was supposed to attend a convention in New York at Madison Square Gardens, but the US government cancelled his visa in light of the Gujarat riots. For many of his NRI associates, this return is also being a seen a big victory. Given that this visit is taking place after 14 years, it’s not surprising that tickets for the event are all sold out . According to a Zee News report, “The Indian American Community Foundation (IACF), which is hosting the programme, said 18,000 free tickets have been distributed to various community organizations across America. The rest is for donors and invitees. The seating capacity of the venue is 20,000.” For those who’ve been unable to buy tickets, they’ll have the option of going to Times Square where the Indian PM’s address would be broadcast live on a large screen.