Poor offering their all inspired me, says Modi

Narrating how he was offered milk and a roti made of bajra (millet) by a poor family in his days as an "ascetic", Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said their gesture inspired him to devote his life to people like them.

Addressing the nation in his "Maan Ki Baat" radio programme along with US President Barack Obama, Modi said he was touched by how the family tried to provide him their best food.

"I went to eat a meal at their home. It was a small hut, where we sat down to eat. They offered me roti made of bajra (millet), and milk. Their young child was looking at the milk. I felt the child has never even seen milk. So I gave that small bowl of milk to the child. And he drank it within seconds," Modi said.

Perhaps the child had never had any milk, apart from his mother's milk, he said.

"Maybe, they had bought milk so that I could have a good meal."

The prime minister said the family was angry with the child but the incident touched his heart as there was this family living in a hut that "could think so much about my well-being".

"This incident inspired me a lot. So I should devote my life to their service," Modi said.