Prime Minister Narendra Modi walks With Bear Grylls through deep forests

People from 180 countries watched on Discovery Channel on Monday night Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with renowned television host and survivalist Bear Grylls walking in the deep forests of Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, which is known for tiger conservation.  The PM was found extremely happy walking through the wild, discarding all dangers around, braving rain and  biting cold. His companion  found him a “great sport” throughout  the risky tour.

The Indian prime minister’s much-talked about adventure trip in the wilderness was   a special episode shot for Bear Grylls’ hugely popular television show, “Man Vs Wild”   on Discovery Channel.

Named “Man Vs Wild with Bear Grylls and Prime Minister Modi”, the episode was shot in February in the wilderness of Jim Corbett National Park.

The prime minister was found happily engaged in a conversation with Grylls, who asked the PM about his “childhood, dreams as the prime minister, whether he feared anything in life and if he ever felt nervous before a political rally”.

Modi said nervousness was not a part of his temperament, “My problem is that I have never experienced such fears. I am unable to explain it to people what nervousness is and how to deal with it because my in-built temperament is very positive. I see positivity in everything. And because of that reason, I am never disappointed,” he answered.

Grylls found it was a strong message for the young.

“If I have to tell anything to the young generation then I will say we should not think of our life in pieces. If we think of our life as a whole then there will be ups and downs. If you are going down don’t think about it because the way up starts from there,” he told Grylls.

The prime minister talked to Grylls about   living with love for nature and not exploiting it for one’s own ends but leaving it for the future generations.

He said India’s message to the world is Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, or the whole world is one family.

When Grylls asked him on becoming a prime minister, he said his focus has always been the development of the nation.

“I was the chief minister of a state first. I worked as a chief minister for 13 years, which was a new journey for me. Then my country decided I needed to do this job. So I have been doing this for the last five years.

“But the focus has always been on one thing and that is development. And I am satisfied with that job. Today, if I consider this time as a vacation, then I must say I am taking a vacation for the first time in 18 years,”  he  said.

On being the country’s prime minister, he told Grylls,”It never occurs to me who I am. I am above all this. When I was a chief minister and even now as the prime minister, I only think of my work, my responsibilities. My position never goes to my head.”

When Grylls offered him a makeshift spear, warning about tigers in the area where they were walking through. Modi told him, “God takes care of everything”.

“You should never be afraid of nature because when we think that we are in conflict with nature is when the problem starts,” he said.

Modi told Grylls that he left home when he was 17 and spent his time in the Himalayas.

“I wanted to make a decision about my life. But before that I wanted to understand the world. I wanted to see the spiritual world. For that, I went to the Himalayas. I love nature. I met people in the Himalayas, stayed with them. It was a wonderful experience and I spent a long time there,” he told Grylls.

The prime minister was hopeful that the show would help promote tourism in the country. “When people see this, people from all around the world would want to come to India…this will help promote tourism in the country,” he said at the end of the show.