Last Updated: January 04, 2024, 19:02 IST
Lakshadweep, India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried snorkelling in Lakshadweep.
Sharing pictures of corals and fish, PM Modi advised adventure lovers to definitely add Lakshadweep to their bucket list.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried snorkelling during his recent stay in India’s smallest Union Territory of Lakshadweep. Sharing pictures of corals and fish, PM Modi advised adventure lovers to definitely add the spot to their bucket list.
“For those who wish to embrace the adventurer in them, Lakshadweep has to be on your list. During my stay, I also tried snorkelling – what an exhilarating experience it was,” the prime minister posted on X on Thursday.
He further said that in addition to the scenic beauty, Lakshadweep’s tranquility is also mesmerising. The PM added that the serene environment gave him an opportunity to reflect on how to work even harder for the welfare of 140 crore Indians.
PM Modi also shared pictures from his morning walks along the ‘pristine beaches’.
For those who wish to embrace the adventurer in them, Lakshadweep has to be on your list.During my stay, I also tried snorkelling – what an exhilarating experience it was! pic.twitter.com/rikUTGlFN7
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 4, 2024
Snorkeling is swimming near the water’s surface with the use of a mask and a breathing tube, called a snorkel. Snorkelers take in panoramic underwater views from above and don’t deep dive into the water (unlike the scuba divers).
In 2019, the world, for the first time, saw the adventurous side of PM Narendra Modi when Discovery channel aired its popular ‘Man vs Wild’ show with survivalist and adventurer Bear Grylls, who said the prime minister was an example of ‘calm and cheerfulness’ as they tested their survival skills in the untamed wilderness of the Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand.
Grylls had shared a 45-second promo of the special episode on X before the show was aired. The clip broke the internet as people got to see a completely contrasting side to the PM.
It showed Modi, then 68 years old, driving into the Park with images of a tiger, a herd of elephants and deer running in the distance. Other visual showed him with a makeshift spear and on a put-together raft crossing a river in pouring rain.
In an interview to news agency ANI, Grylls said what stood out the most about Modi throughout the journey was the global leader’s humility, as even through incessant rains, there was a “big smile” on his face.
“What shone bright for me was his humility. He was a very humble guy and even though there was pouring rain and his secret services were trying to get out umbrellas, he said ‘no I’m fine’ and then we reached a river. I made this raft out of reeds and a tarpaulin. I said I think we can get across the river using this, but the secret services were like ‘we cannot put the Prime Minister in a little homemade raft’. But he (Modi) said he was fine and we’d do this together. He asked me to get in too, but the things started sinking. So it was me swimming and pushing him, he was soaking wet but there was a big smile on his face even through the rain. You learn about people in those moments,” Grylls had said.
“You are the most important man in India. My job is to protect you,” he said in the video, covering PM Narendra Modi’s shoulder with a jacket.
Responding to Grylls, when he points out evident dangers lurking in their vicinity, PM Modi said, “We should not take this place as a danger zone. When we go against nature then everything becomes dangerous; human beings too become dangerous. On the other hand, if we co-operate with nature, then she also co-operates with us.”
