New Delhi, September 5
From his familiar serious demeanour to a somewhat unseen lighter side, Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed it all during his interaction with children on the Teacher’s Day today.

The 90-minute speech, telecast live across country, was a delightful insight into the closely guarded persona of the man, who left hundreds of school children and their teachers glued to television sets in far-off places captivated. Emphasising on girl education, toilets in all schools and easy access to technology in all languages, Modi gave a pep talk to students that focused on character-building, giving respect to the profession of teaching and skill development.

During the interaction, the PM narrated anecdotes and faced questions from the floor (Manekshaw Auditorium in Delhi Cantt) as well as from six cities from Leh to Thiruvananthapuram through video-conferencing.

“Work hard, play hard and sweat at least four times a day…and be careful about depending too heavily on Google Guru. Google may provide information but not knowledge”, he told students. "Your style conveys an image that you are a headmaster.

Are you tough like a headmaster or are you sweet," asked a girl student from Delhi. "I am a taskmaster. I do a lot of hard work and extract hard work from others. I told officers in my first interaction that if you work for 11 hours, I am ready to work for 12 hours, if you work for 12 hours, I am ready to work for 13 hours," Modi said. A query from Class VIII student from Leh, Rigzin Angmo, brought out the lighter side of Modi who confessed to being mischievous in his childhood.

“Yes, I used to play pranks with my friends,” he said and recalled how he would staple together people’s clothes at weddings and dangled an imli (tamarind) in front of ‘shehnai players’, who could not play the instrument as their mouths used to salivate.

“Imli dekh ke muh mein pani aa jata hai….and one can’t play shehnai after that,” said a visibly gleeful PM, eliciting a laughter from the students. “But you must promise me you wouldn’t do such things,” said Modi. A boy from Imphal asked how he can become the Prime Minister. “I come from a humble family and never thought of reaching the top. That is the beauty of our democracy and our Constitution-makers. Anybody can become the Prime Minister if you win the confidence and love of the people," he said.

"Start preparing for 2024, Till then I have no threat," he said, adding "I hope you will call me for your swearing-in", in remarks that again sent the audience into peals of laughter. To a question, the PM said experience as well as education were important in the making of a person.

Asked what kind of a person he is in real life, he replied, "I am yet to discover myself. I have not been able to know who I am. I am not able to decide who I am."

Modi also said children should develop responsibility towards nature and environment by conserving power, water and other natural resources. “Climate has not changed. We have changed...our tolerance and habits have changed. If we change then God has built the system in such a way that it can balance on its own,” he said when a student flagged concerns about climate change.

Asked what type of students would he like if he were a teacher, he said a good teacher does not discriminate on the basis of ability. “Like a mother who treats all children alike, a teacher should also not discriminate on the basis of ability or super ability,” he said.

Lauding girls for excelling in all fields, Modi said educating them means educating two families but regretted the high drop-out rate. "Educating girls is my priority…I have noticed that girls drop out of schools by the time they reach class 3rd or 4th just because schools don't have separate toilets for them. They don't feel comfortable. There should be toilets for boys and girls in all schools. We should concentrate on girl students not quitting schools," he said.

The Prime Minister also asked children to imbibe the habit of reading biographies of people who have made a mark in various fields. “I saw people buying pakoras from a street food stall. The pakoras were wrapped in a newspaper…I saw these people reading that paper. Imagine their curiosity,” he said. Asking children to enjoy childhood, he said, "Don't let the child in you die." He said childhood was important for life's development, but lamented that "childhood is fast dying" as children are taking to doing big things.

Modi stressed on the relevance of Teacher’s Day, celebrated to mark the birthday of Dr Sarvpalli Radhakrishnan, saying it was essential to highlight the importance of a teacher in a society and restore their respect. "Only then can teachers mould our new generations," he said.