Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar delivered a heartfelt homage to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi by quoting one of his early Gujarati poems at a community gathering held at the National Cycling Velodrome in Couva.

During her address, Persad-Bissessar recited the following translated stanza from Modi’s poetry collection “Aankh Aa Dhanya Che” (Blessed Are These Eyes):

“In the recesses of my mind
I travel far into the past
And each phase I see unfolds a memory
My recall comes with ease
Each visage easily recognised
Nothing stays hidden
For thus is the truth plain to see
For our companions
With whom we suffered
Never forgotten
Together endured those sufferings
They become the journey in the end”

Her recitation struck a chord with the audience, many of whom are descendants of indentured Indian laborers who migrated between 1845 and 1917. The gesture served as a cultural bridge and emotional recognition of the shared history between the Indian diaspora in Trinidad and their ancestral homeland.

The community event was part of Prime Minister Modi’s two-day visit to Trinidad and Tobago, where he engaged with members of the Indian diaspora—constituting around 40% of the country’s population—and strengthened cultural ties. According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, roughly 556,800 people of Indian origin reside in the country today, including approximately 1,800 NRIs.

Persad-Bissessar praised the poem’s themes of memory, struggle, and companionship, saying it resonated deeply with the narrative of Caribbean Indians: “These words honor not only Modi’s personal journey, but our collective experiences of resilience and unity.”