Our PM's daily life

Union Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu might have said half in jest a few days ago that Prime Minister Narendra Modi doesn't sleep himself and doesn't allow his ministers to sleep either, but that practically sums up Modi's day. Business Standard pieced together bits of information from diverse sources on the PM's daily schedule.

Modi might have had a rocky relationship with the media after the 2002 riots, but he's learnt to be an avid watcher of "studio debates'' every night. The source did not reveal the name of the television channel the PM is most hooked to, once he's home after at least 10 to 12 hours at his South Block office. "Mostly during his dinner, he surfs from one channel to the other to look for issues of interest,'' the source said.

The PM starts off with news too - a quick scan of newspapers every morning, and then a glance at the news clippings provided by the government. While as the chief minister, he's believed to have focused more on the Gujarati papers, now he spends more time on English dailies.

Keen on history and political science, the PM still orders books on these subjects. As a young boy in hometown Vadnagar, he frequented the local library regularly, so reading has been integral to his life, says Nikita Parmar, one of Modi's biographers. Cultural heritage and ancient Indian history interest him a great deal.

Although he starts his day at 4 am and goes on till about midnight, PM Modi hardly finds time for serious reading while in the country. So, he catches up on reading while flying-he's already logged in a total of 31 days of travel in the first 180 days as prime minister.

As chief minister, walking in the sprawling residential complex in Gandhinagar was a morning ritual, according to Sudesh Verma, who wrote a book on Modi. He likes to walk at Race Course Road too before getting busy with meetings and files, another source said. But it is his yoga, surya namaskar and meditation that get him going. There's tea with ginger (you rarely have tea without ginger in Gujarat) and light breakfast-boiled and roasted stuff.

He's fond of food and likes to snack in-between meals, though he's a small eater and prefers Gujarati and South Indian cuisine like khichri, kadhi, upma and khakra, that too cooked by his own cook Badri Meena. If former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had Marie biscuit with tea in the evening, Modi's not known to have shown any preference in biscuits.

Pointing at Modi's love for animals, Parmar spoke of a picture in his room when he was the chief minister, playing and feeding a pet dog with biscuits. Modi is close to animals and birds and spends a bit of his mornings with dogs, peacocks, ducks and pigeons.

All prime ministers work, but some might spend more hours at home. For instance, Atal Bihari Vajpayee did not go to the South Block office everyday and sometimes preferred to work out of his home office, but not Modi. He's in office by nine everyday. His meetings spill over to Race Course Road residence on off days or during late hours mostly. He also sees some of his visitors at home.

The PM is known for his austere living, other than his fondness for good clothes especially the range of waist coats in all possible hues and branded pens. If his CM's residence was rather simple with just a few pieces of furniture, TV, a computer, wardrobe, and a tiny shrine, his home at RCR is also not exactly five-star, people in the know said. Referring to the shrine, a source said he's religious, but "more spiritual".

While dinner is mostly at home in front of the TV, his lunch schedule is designed according to his meetings, which are usually brief. But a Gujarat-cadre IAS officer pointed out that while most of his meetings are precisely timed ranging from 10 to 15 minutes, Modi is a good listener and not averse to giving more time if he thinks the other person is adding value. "His expression may not always reveal his mind, but when Modi intervenes, he acts.''

Among the noticeable changes from Gujarat to Delhi include a much busier appointment diary and Modi's extempore speeches in English, which are very self-assured. more