The highlights of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s annual Diwali Milan with the media Saturday in Delhi were multiple P’s – “Param Sukh” and “purane din”.
Param Sukh
Selfie-seeking journalists swarmed Narendra Modi as he glad-handed them in the aisles. One journalist asked him in Gujarati, “How does it look in Gujarat?”
“Param Sukh,” he beamed, and then opened his arms wide.
The journalists immediately began arguing among themselves about the best translation into English.
Pure Joy? Pure happiness? Satisfaction?
The final translations that was settled on were “extreme happiness” and “climax of happiness.”
The Prime Minister happily posed for selfies, in some cases even telling journalists to click again.
“Theek se nahin hua. Phir se lo (It isn’t taken properly, take it again),” he told the journalists.
Purane din
For once, the talk was about “purane din (old days)” and not “achche din (good days)”. Modi spoke from the stage about how he used to meet mediapersons at the venue many years ago during his stint at the Delhi party office.
“Back then there was no bandhan or kathinayi (barrier or difficulty) in meeting all of you. Today it is nice to meet you without any paper, pen or camera,” he said.
Professional hazard
As he appreciated the media’s role in promoting his flagship program Swachcha Bharat Abhiyan, he said there are expectations and complaints in his relationship with the media.
“But that is a professional hazard,” he said. Another “P”.
Party president Amit Shah was peppered with questions about Gujarat’s caste combinations, GST, traders and Patidars. He answered every question with witty one-liners as senior journalists and editors sat around him in a circular table.
It was the most sought-after table. There was no place to stand around it and everybody craned their necks to hang on to every word. One could hear loud laughter emanating from the table from far.
As he held forth – there was a non-stop, conveyor belt-like service of food to the table. A journalist asked if introducing GST wasn’t risky just before Gujarat election. A minister at the table replied: “Hum desh chala rahe hain, sarkar nahin.(We run the country, not just the government)”
The last “P” at the event was the near-empty pizza counter as everyone devoured the dishes like khichdi, missi roti and other vegtarian dishes.