Sabari Venkat, a 12-year-old had a sleepless night on Thursday, for his family had just received a call from the Prime Minister's Office asking Sabari to be present at the Coimbatore airport next day for a face-to-face meeting with none other than the Prime Minister of the country, Narendra Modi. The latter was enroute the neighbouring town of Palakkad for his election campaign on Friday.
"It was around 11 pm on Thursday night when we got the call. We spent the entire night preparing to meet the Prime Minister. My mother chose a Swami Vivekananda (Sabari's idol) kurta for me to wear for the meeting. My relatives asked me to carry a bouquet as well, but we were asked to refrain from carrying anything in hand. I went to the airport with my father. There were around 30 people to receive the PM. He met me soon after he got down from the flight. We spent around 7-8 minutes together," says Sabari.
Sabari Venkat has no vision in his right eye, and has partial vision in his left. But that didn't deter the young student from winning the 'Best Creative Child Award' in 2015, which is a part of the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) by the Union Ministry . Though Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley gave away the awards last year, Sabari aspired to receive it from the Prime Minister himself. "I admire Modi for his simplicity and administrative skills. He comes from a poor family and has worked hard to reach the position he is in today- from a chaiwala to CM to PM. I didn't expect the meeting to happen. But when I finally met him, I was on cloud nine," enthuses Sabari, whose wish came true when Modi presented the award for the second time.
He adds, "The Prime Minister asked to me to say something and I said the meeting was a dream come true. I then asked him the secret to his growth and success. I want to become an IAS officer when I grow up and hence, asked few tips for good administration that would help me in future. I also enquired how I could become like him, to which he said that he would guide me and that I need not worry about it. I then narrated a story about a greedy fox and a speech on the teachings of Swami Vivekananda. I finally got his blessings. I am yet to tell my friends about how the meeting went. But, I'm elated, "says Sabari, who is also a motivational speaker and has more than 200 speeches to his credit.
The Prime Minister too posted on his micro-blogging page after the meeting, "At Coimbatore airport met 12-year old Divyang boy Sabari Venkat. Was very happy to spend time with him. My young friend Sabari Venkat was conferred a national award during the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyaan. My best wishes for his future."
"It was around 11 pm on Thursday night when we got the call. We spent the entire night preparing to meet the Prime Minister. My mother chose a Swami Vivekananda (Sabari's idol) kurta for me to wear for the meeting. My relatives asked me to carry a bouquet as well, but we were asked to refrain from carrying anything in hand. I went to the airport with my father. There were around 30 people to receive the PM. He met me soon after he got down from the flight. We spent around 7-8 minutes together," says Sabari.
Sabari Venkat has no vision in his right eye, and has partial vision in his left. But that didn't deter the young student from winning the 'Best Creative Child Award' in 2015, which is a part of the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) by the Union Ministry . Though Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley gave away the awards last year, Sabari aspired to receive it from the Prime Minister himself. "I admire Modi for his simplicity and administrative skills. He comes from a poor family and has worked hard to reach the position he is in today- from a chaiwala to CM to PM. I didn't expect the meeting to happen. But when I finally met him, I was on cloud nine," enthuses Sabari, whose wish came true when Modi presented the award for the second time.
He adds, "The Prime Minister asked to me to say something and I said the meeting was a dream come true. I then asked him the secret to his growth and success. I want to become an IAS officer when I grow up and hence, asked few tips for good administration that would help me in future. I also enquired how I could become like him, to which he said that he would guide me and that I need not worry about it. I then narrated a story about a greedy fox and a speech on the teachings of Swami Vivekananda. I finally got his blessings. I am yet to tell my friends about how the meeting went. But, I'm elated, "says Sabari, who is also a motivational speaker and has more than 200 speeches to his credit.
The Prime Minister too posted on his micro-blogging page after the meeting, "At Coimbatore airport met 12-year old Divyang boy Sabari Venkat. Was very happy to spend time with him. My young friend Sabari Venkat was conferred a national award during the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyaan. My best wishes for his future."