Modi shares b'day anecdote with Goan senior citizen

Panaji, Sep 18 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday displayed his customary wit while speaking to a Goan senior citizen during an online virtual interaction with health workers, ruling politicians, administrative officials and a cross section of people from the coastal state.

During his brief interaction with Shashikant Bhagat, a member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Modi mentioned his penchant for telephoning persons who have influenced him in his life on his birthday and said that on Friday he rung an elderly gentleman to seek his blessings.

Modi had asked Bhagat his age, to which the senior citizen had replied saying he was 75-years-old.

"Yesterday, I was looking up some people who I had known in the past. I had tracked down a phone number of an elderly gentleman I had known and urged him to give me blessings. He is older than me and and is cut off from the world of television and newspapers. He lives in his own world," the Prime Minister said.

"He asked me, 'how old are you?' I told him that 'I have 30 years left'. He laughed and said 'you have not changed at all. You are doing exactly what you were doing when you were young'.

"You too do not mention that you are 75 years old. Instead, just say you have 25 years more (to live)," Modi added.

The Prime Minister celebrated his 71st birthday on Friday.