Lucknow: Students may now get a chance to celebrate "Kaka Modi Day" every September 17 before they mark November 14 as Children's Day in honour of "Chacha" Nehru.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 68 on Monday, some 200 pupils at Naraur Primary School on Varanasi's fringes wished their "Kaka Modi" a happy birthday face to face.
"Some people had been visiting the school over the past week to teach the students good manners and how they should welcome the Prime Minister. They asked the children to address him as 'Kaka Modi'," a father told reporters at the school gate, asking not to be identified.
Class V student Amit Gupta later told reporters: "Modi Kaka visited our school today. I'm very happy. He said, 'If you play ( kheloge), you'll bloom (khiloge)'."
The cards and posters the children had painted said: "Happy Birthday to Modiji."
Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's first Prime Minister, was known as "Chacha Nehru" because of his popularity among children. Both " chacha" and "kaka" mean "uncle". Ironically, Modi has several times publicly castigated Nehru.
The Prime Minister's flight landed in Varanasi, his constituency, at 5pm. He took a helicopter to the Diesel Locomotive Works ground where he was greeted by women anganwadi and Asha workers - volunteers at rural childcare centres and accredited social health activists, respectively.
Sources said the administration had held a six-hour rehearsal for 111 anganwadi and 80 Asha workers on Sunday, training them to wish Modi a happy birthday with a slight bow and a namaskar. Many of the women, standing in four rows, held colourful balloons or placards.
After 5 to 10 minutes at the ground, Modi drove to the government primary school 8km away and spent an hour there.
He then returned to the Diesel Locomotive Works guesthouse and met 68 students from Kashi Vidyapeeth, mostly rag-pickers, and their teachers.
The main street crossings were decked out with flowers and decorative lights to mark the Prime Minister's birthday. Several groups organised birthday programmes for Modi on their own.
At Panini Kanya Mahavidyalaya, 68 girl students in yellow clothes offered havan seeking a long life for the Prime Minister. Supporters of local BJP politician Sunil Mishra, who conceived and organised the event, sat before the havan holding placards carrying Mishra's name.
BJP workers distributed 68kg of laddoos on the city's streets and lit 1,000 diyas (earthen lamps) at 68 places in the city. They appealed to people to light at least one lamp in front of their homes at night as a tribute to the Prime Minister.
Potholes were repaired in the city areas of Mahmoorganj, Maduadih, Lahartara and Lanka, through which the Prime Minister passed.
According to officials, the force deployment for Modi's visit included 20 superintendents of police, 30 assistant superintendents, 70 deputy superintendents, 540 inspectors and sub-inspectors, 510 head constables, 3,350 constables, 235 women constables, 265 traffic policemen, 500 home guards, 10 companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary and 18 companies of central paramilitary forces.
