Modi fasting on his maiden trip to the US

The PM would be keeping up his 35-year-old habit of fasting during Navaratri and will forgo diplomatic dinners that would be organised on his arrival in the US

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to the US will have something missing. He will decline offers to be a part of various diplomatic dinners organised on his arrival. He will observe the annual ‘nakoda fasting’ during Navaratri.

“We are aware of the Prime Minister’s plans to fast during his visit to Washington. As with all guests hosted by the US Presidents over the years, we always work to respectfully accommodate the practices of our visitors,” said Caitlin Hayden, spokesperson of the National Security Council.

The White House has not divulged any more details of what Modi would be served during the private working dinner hosted by the US President Barrack Obama at the White House on September 29. However, the White House Historical Association believes that the details of the dinner have already been worked out, which would be made keeping the religious practices and beliefs of the visiting leader in view.

Throughout a gruelling schedule that features the United Nations General Assembly, a rally of Indian Americans at New York's Madison Square Garden and talks with Obama in Washington, the devout Hindu Prime Minister will abstain from food. In keeping with the habits of a lifetime, Modi will restrict himself to a "liquid diet" throughout the Navaratri festival.

“He will only consume lemonade with some honey and a cup of tea every day," said a senior official from Modi's office. “He has been fasting for the past 35 years and does not want to change this pattern even while he is travelling,” added the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In one of his blogs Modi wrote, “Yes, I have been fasting during Navaratri for over 35 years now. This fast is never to seek anything but an act of self-purification. Fasts such as this have been a source of strength, power and inspiration for me over the last many years.”

“For Modi, this is not a religious ritual. It is a spiritual tool for introspection and cleansing,” said Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of the book ‘Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times’.

Millions in the country fast during Navaratri, in worship of Goddess Durga. Many eat a plain single meal at the end of the day. Others, like the Prime Minister, will subsist on a liquid diet.