HIGH HOPES FOR PM'S HOMETOWN

The centuries-old town of Vadnagar, home to PM Modi in his young years, is getting a heritage makeover and a mega tourism push

- Jumana Shah

Amid a region that boasted uninterrupted habitation for over 2,500 years and having lived through seven different dynastic eras, few knew of Vadnagar, a small, dusty town that occupied no more than four square kilometres in the Mehsana district of Gujarat. Till one of its denizens, a certain Narendra Damodardas Modi, rose to become the prime minister of India and catapulted his home town into the limelight.

And so Discovery Channel aired a documentary on Vadnagar, it made an appearance on India's tentative list for UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, hosted a poets' meet that included a mushaira by popular versifier Kumar Vishwas, and an international conference on archaeological heritage and culture that saw 2,500-plus experts, academicians and students participate.

The Centre and the state government, though, are not done yet. Over the next year, two students each from over 750 districts across the country will make their way to Kumar Shala No. 1, the place where Modi completed middle school. Established in 1888 by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad, the school has been given a recent makeover, with classrooms that look exactly as they did five decades ago, when the PM was a student here. An orientation centre, residential accommodation for students and faculty, an open cafe and community green spaces are being given the final touches. The school will now be an inspirational institute called 'Prerna'. The students will be brought here for an 'orientation programme, under which they will participate in yoga classes and outdoor excursions, sessions on Indian culture and diversity, and watch curated films.