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No food for India’s PM during US visit
Print Edition
INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi will observe a strict religious fast during his maiden trip to the United States, aides said yesterday.
Throughout a schedule that features the United Nations General Assembly, a rally of Indian Americans at New York’s Madison Square Garden and talks with President Barack Obama in Washington, the 64-year-old devout Hindu will abstain from food.
In keeping with the habits of a lifetime, Modi will restrict himself to a “liquid diet” throughout the Navratri festival, when India’s majority Hindus worship mother goddess Durga in all her manifestations.
“He will only consume lemonade with some honey and a cup of tea every day,” a senior official in Modi’s office in New Delhi told reporters yseterday.
“He has been fasting for the past four decades and does not want to change this pattern even while he is traveling,” the official said.
Navratri, derived from the ancient Sanskrit words “nine nights,” is from Thursday to October 3 this year. The festival spans Modi’s first trip to the US since he won in a general election in May.
It culminates on the 10th day, known as Dussehra, which marks the victory of good over evil.
Millions of Hindus fast, pray and dance to please the mother goddess during Navratri. Some restrict their diet to fruit and vegetables while spurning meat, onions and garlic. Others, like Modi, a strict vegetarian, do not eat at all.
“He wakes up at 4am, meditates, prays and carries his own bottle of lemonade with him,” said another government official who has worked closely with Modi.
“Doctors had suggested that he should consume fruits and more juices but he has refused to make any dietary additions during the Navratri celebrations,” said a senior minister in the western state of Gujarat, where Modi served as chief minister for more than a decade.
“In the US you will not see him having dinner or lunch with Obama,” the state minister said.
In 2011, Modi fasted for three days to promote religious harmony in Gujarat.
Another source said the White House had been informed of Modi’s dietary requirements.
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