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How PM Modi Learned Hindi From Buffalo Traders at Vadnagar Station
M
Moneycontrol•07-10-2026, 12:59
How PM Modi Learned Hindi From Buffalo Traders at Vadnagar Station
- •Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalled learning Hindi during his childhood while selling tea at the Vadnagar railway station.
- •He frequently interacted with groups of buffalo traders from Uttar Pradesh who visited the station to transport livestock and goods.
- •The traders would spend their evenings singing devotional songs and ordering tea, providing young Modi with regular opportunities to practice the language.
- •His fluency in Hindi has often led people to assume he is from North India despite growing up in Gujarat.
- •The Prime Minister recently marked 25 years of continuous service as head of government, spanning his tenure as Gujarat chief minister and Prime Minister.
Key Questions Answered
PM Modi learned to speak Hindi as a child by interacting with traders from Uttar Pradesh who visited the railway station in his hometown for the buffalo trade. While selling tea at the station, he regularly spoke with these traders while they waited for goods trains to load grass and transport buffaloes.
While waiting at the railway station for their goods trains, the buffalo traders and laborers would spend their evenings singing bhajans and kirtans, and they would frequently order tea.
PM Modi began his 25 years of continuous service as head of government when he took charge as the Chief Minister of Gujarat on October 7, 2001. He served as Gujarat's chief minister for over 12 years before becoming Prime Minister in 2014.
