Modi reaches out to Shukla, Teejan Bai

Raipur: "Writing is like breathing for me. I want to go back home at the soonest — I want to keep writing," said renowned Hindi poet and novelist Vinod Kumar Shukla, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him on Saturday to inquire about his health.The 89-year-old Jnanpith and Sahitya Akademi award-winning author, who has been undergoing treatment for age-related ailments at a private hospital in Raipur, spoke softly but with the same poetic depth that defines his writing. "Even in illness, his mind was with his pen," said a family member, describing the moving moment. Shukla had requested Assembly Speaker Raman Singh, who visited him at the hospital, to arrange for a pen and paper so that he could continue writing from his bed, a gesture that reflected his undying devotion to his craft. PM began his official engagements by personally reaching out to two of the state's most revered cultural icons — Vinod Kumar Shukla, the literary visionary and Padma Vibhushan Teejan Bai, the celebrated folk artist known for her Pandvani exponent. Before participating in the statehood celebrations, Modi chose to make time for this quieter act of concern."Writing is like breathing for me," says Vinod Kumar Shukla "Writing is like breathing for me. I want to go home soon — I want to keep writing," he told the PM.PM also called Venu Dewshmukh, the daughter-in-law of Teejan Bai.