India's PM, Narendra Modi in a recent podcast talked about childhood friendships and how lonely it is to be in a position of power.
Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has become one of the most popular political faces globally. He was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is a Member of Parliament for Varanasi. PM Modi is the longest-serving prime minister outside the Indian National Congress. He recently sat for a podcast with Nikhil Kamath and gave us rare glimpses into his life.
Narendra Modi and Amit Shah's friendship has been legendary. The duo together have been a powerful force to be reckoned with who shook the political empire of India. However, not much about his personal affairs is known to the public. For the first time, Narendra Modi talked about his equation with his childhood friends.
When Nikhil asked Narendra Modi about his childhood friendships, he revealed that he left home at a very early age. Since then, he has lost contact with all his friends. But after he became PM, he invited all his classmates to the PM's house, and there they recollected their childhood days. At that time, he realised that even though he looked at his mates as friends, they saw the Prime Minister of India in him and referred to him with respect.
PM Modi added that after that, he made peace with the fact that he will never have real friendships in life. Power comes with loneliness, and that is the hard truth of life. He has no one in his life who refers to him as 'tu'. In his words:
“Mei dosh khoj raha tha par unko Mukhyamanti nazar araha tha. Toh woh khai patti nahi. Aur meine jeevan mei sayad ‘tu’ kehne waala koi bacha nahi.”
Watch the video here.
Prime Minister, Narendra Modi entered the podcast with Nikhil Kamath’s 'People' series on January 10, 2025. The conversation covered a spectrum of topics. The Prime Minister opened up about his childhood, education, and work, among other topics. As the conversation reached its conclusion, Nikhil steered to a more laid-back conversation and even hinted at PM Modi’s Italy connection. He was quoted saying:
"My favourite food is pizza. And pizza is from Italy. And people say you know a lot about Italy. Would you like to say something about that?"
However, when he didn't get a response from Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, he asked the latter if he had seen the memes. The co-founder of Zerodha asked, referring to the viral memes linking PM Modi with Italian PM, Giorgia Meloni. For the unversed, social media is often flooded with memes that highlight the Indian PM's rapport with the Italian Prime Minister. Nikhil Kamath asked PM Modi, "Haven’t you seen these memes?"
Prime Minister, Narendra Modi calmly responded to Nikhil Kamath's question, stating that he hadn't seen the memes. He nonchalantly added that such things are part and parcel of public life, and he doesn't let them distract him. For those unfamiliar with the context, in June 2024, Prime Minister Georgia Meloni shared a video of her and PM Modi with the hashtag 'Melodi' team. In the video, PM Melodi could be heard saying 'Hello from the Melodi team' while PM Modi chuckled beside her. In his conversation with Nikhil Kamath, PM Modi remarked:
"Nahi, vo toh chalta rehta hai. Main usmein apna time kharab nahi karta."
Let us know your opinion on PM Modi's revelations.
Next Read: Govinda Felt He Was 'Bhikari' When He Saw Beggar Woman With Child After Immersing Baby's Dead Body