I too have feelings, says 'poet' Modi

POETIC JUSTICE? Narendra Modi released an anthology of his poems in Mumbai.

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New Delhi: He has been given many adjectives. Some pleasant, others not so flattering. From "firebrand leader", "magnetic speaker", "dedicated pracharak" to “mass murderer” and “communal” – Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has been at the receiving end of all these titles.

And now he has added another title to his kitty – that of a poet.

Surprised? Even Vice President Bhairon Shekhawat, who released Modi's book – was.

"When he (Modi) called me asking whether I would release the book, I thought he was joking. I didn't know he had written poems," Shekhawat was quoted as saying while launching Dhanya Aa Aankh Chhe (My Eyes Are Blessed), an anthology of poems.

All the poems in the book have been written in Gujarati have the central theme of nature, its beauty and destructive power.

PT quoted Modi as saying at the launh,"People ask me how I can be chief minister and still write poems, but I ask them am I not human? I am not a piece of furniture. I also have feelings. When there were floods in Surat, I experienced the fury of nature and that is what prompted me to write these poems."

Later, speaking to reporters, Modi agreed that his image as a poet seemed contrary to his public persona as a tough- talking chief minister but said this was not true as he had always been interested in literature and poetry.

"My life has always been one of struggle and that is what my poetry is about. Since childhood I was interested in the creative aspect of writing. My poems reflect that," he said.