Modi walks in the wild with Bear Grylls

Agencies
August 13, 2019

New Delhi, Aug 13: Walking through the wild and taking a ride on a cold river in a makeshift boat were some of the things that Prime Minister Narendra Modi put up with as he teamed up with survivalist Bear Grylls to promote a cause close to his heart-protecting nature.

On Discovery channel's, "Man Vs Wild with Bear Grylls and Prime Minister Modi", he braved the rain and cold in the jungles of Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, and as the host put it, the PM was a "great sport".

"You are the most important man in India and my job is to keep you alive," Grylls joked.

During the conversation, Modi said fulfilling people's dreams gave him happiness and his focus is on development. "My position never goes to my head," he said, in reply to a question.

Grylls, who has had celebrity guests, including former American President Barack Obama, on his show earlier asked Modi about his childhood, dreams as the prime minister, whether he feared anything in life and if he ever felt nervous before a political rally.

Modi said he never had a good answer about “nervousness” as it was not a part of his temperament.

"My problem is that I have never experienced such fears. I am unable to explain it to people what nervousness is and how to deal with it because my in-built temperament is very positive. I see positivity in everything. And because of that reason, I am never disappointed."

Grylls said this was a strong message for the young.

“If I have to tell anything to the young generation, then I will say we should not think of our life in pieces. If we think of our life as a whole then there will be ups and downs. If you are going down, don't think about it because the way up starts from there,” he said.

When they came to the river during the five-mile walk, Grylls made Modi sit in a makeshift boat while he himself pushed it along, half submerged in water

At the end of the ride, they shared a hot drink laced with curry leaves.

"You must be the first prime minster ever in history to cross a river on a coracle like this,” the host quipped.

But Grylls, known for his death-defying feats and an irreverent style, spared the prime minister of what some of his guests go through.

Modi’s talked about living with love for nature and not exploiting it for one’s own ends but leaving it for the future generations.

He said India’s message to the world is Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, or the whole world is one family.

The show attracted some controversy months before its broadcast on Monday night. The Congress alleged the prime minister was busy shooting the show the day the Pulwama terror attack took place in Kashmir.

When Grylls asked whether he had ever dreamt of becoming prime minister, Modi said his focus has always been the development of the nation.

"I was the chief minister of a state first. I worked as a chief minister for 13 years, which was a new journey for me. Then my country decided I needed to do this job. So I have been doing this for the last five years.

"But the focus has been always been on one thing and that is development. And I am satisfied with that job. Today, if I consider this time as a vacation, then I must say I am taking a vacation for the first time in 18 years," Modi said.

On becoming the country's prime minister, Grylls asked whether he ever pinched himself.

"It never occurs to me who I am. I am above all this. When I was a chief minister and even now as the prime minister, I only think of my work, my responsibilities. My position never goes to my head," he added.

Recalling his childhood years, Modi said though there was poverty, his family was always connected with nature.

So much so that his father, despite there being no money, would buy 20-30 postcards and send it to relatives to inform them about the first rains in their village, he said.

At one point, Grylls, who made a makeshift spear, warned him about tigers in the area that they were walking through. Modi said, "God takes care of everything".

He said his beliefs did not allow him to kill anyone but he would hold the spear for the host.

"You should never be afraid of nature because when we think that we are in conflict with nature is when the problem starts," he said.

Asked whether he was a good student, the prime minister laughed and said, "I can't say that I was a good student."

He said that despite poverty, he liked to keep a neat appearance at school, ironing his uniform with coal embers in a copper bowl.

Modi said he left home when he was in his teens and spent his time in the Himalayas.

"I wanted to make a decision about my life. But before that I wanted to understand the world. I wanted to see the spiritual world. For that, I went to the Himalayas. I love nature. I met people in the Himalayas, stayed with them. It was a wonderful experience and I spent a long time there."

Prompted by Grylls, Modi talked about the time he sold tea at a railway station as a child, and when he brought home a baby crocodile from the pond where he had gone to bathe.

“My mother said to me this is wrong. You cannot do this. You should not do this, put it back. I went and put it back," the prime minister said.

Comments

H
 - 
Wednesday, 14 Aug 2019

Someone please tell him his protocol... There is something called maturity 

 

All stunts for for what.... For whom? 

 

 

 

 

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News Network
March 6,2020

Beijing, Mar 6: World health officials have warned that countries are not taking the coronavirus crisis seriously enough, as outbreaks surged across Europe and in the United States where medical workers sounded warnings over a "disturbing" lack of hospital preparedness.

The World Health Organization warned Thursday that a "long list" of countries were not showing "the level of political commitment" needed to "match the level of the threat we all face".

"This is not a drill," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.

"This epidemic is a threat for every country, rich and poor."

Tedros called on the heads of government in every country to take charge of the response and "coordinate all sectors", rather than leaving it to health ministries.

What is needed, he said, is "aggressive preparedness."

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Agencies
January 11,2020

New Delhi, Jan 11: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the curative petition of two death row convicts in 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape case on January 14.

A five-judge Bench of Justices N V Ramana, Arun Mishra, R F Nariman, R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan will hear the petition filed by Vinay Sharma and Mukesh.

The duo had moved a curative petition in the top court after a Delhi court issued a death warrant in their name and announced January 22 as the date of their execution.

Besides them, two other convicts named Pawan and Akshay are also slated to be executed on the same day at 7 am in Delhi's Tihar Jail premises.

They were convicted and sentenced to death for raping a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in the national capital on the night of December 16, 2012.

The victim, who was later given the name Nirbhaya, died at a hospital in Singapore where she had been airlifted for medical treatment.

A curative petition is the last judicial resort available for redressal of grievances. It is decided by the judges in-chamber.

If it is rejected, they are legally bound to move a mercy petition. It is filed before the President who has the power to commute it to life imprisonment.

The court after issuing a black warrant in their name gave them two weeks' time to file both the curative and mercy petition.

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News Network
January 15,2020

Srinagar, Jan 15: The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Tuesday evening allowed mobile Internet in parts of Jammu region and broadband in establishments providing essential services, days after the Supreme Court ordered a review of the curbs imposed in the Union Territory.

The order comes into effect from January 15 and shall remain in force for seven days, a government communication said.

In a three-page order, the administration asked Internet service providers to offer broadband facility (with Mac binding) to all institutions dealing with essential services such as hospitals, banks and government offices.

In order to facilitate tourism, the broadband Internet services would be provided to hotels and tour and travel establishments, the order said.

Mac Binding essentially means to enforce a client machine to work from a particular Internet Protocol address.

"Prior to giving such facility, the service providers have been asked to install necessary firewalls and carry out white-listing of sites that would enable government websites and website dealing with essential services like e-banking," the order said.

However, all social media sites remain out of bounds. "There shall be complete restrictions on social media applications allowing peer-to-peer communication and virtual private network applications for the time being," the order said.

The institutions and government offices that are being provided Internet access shall be responsible to prevent misuse, according to the order.

It said the 2G mobile connectivity on post-paid mobiles for accessing white-listed websites including e-banking will be allowed in districts of Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Udhampur and Reasi -- all in the Jammu region.

The order said that the police has brought material relating to the terror modules operating in Jammu and Kashmir including handlers from across the border who are attempting to aid and incite people by transmission of fake news and targeted messages through use of Internet.

The relaxation came days after the Supreme Court said access to the Internet is a fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution.

The SC verdict had come on Friday on a batch of pleas challenging the curbs imposed in Jammu and Kashmir after the Centre's abrogation of provisions of Article 370 on August 5 last year.

The court had also asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to review within a week all orders imposing curbs in the Union Territory.

It had asked the J-K administration to restore Internet services in institutions such as hospitals and educational places providing essential services.

The J-K administration's Tuesday communication said that in view of the Supreme Court directions, the situation has been reviewed and Internet has been opened whereever it was possible keeping in view the security consideration.

In Kashmir, 400 additional Internet kiosks will be established, besides the 900 terminals which are already operational in the Valley.

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