Former British special forces soldier turned television adventurer Bear Grylls tweeted on Saturday that one of his "favourite photos" is the one taken with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the two filmed for the popular jungle survival programme "Man vs Wild" on Discovery Channel in 2019.
The photo shows Bear Grylls and PM Modi preparing to have a cup of tea on the bank of the Kosi river at the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand.
"One of my favourite photos: soaking wet and sharing a cup of tea with Prime Minister Modi after our @Discovery jungle adventure together. This moment reminds me of how the wild is the ultimate leveller. We are all the same behind the titles and masks," the British television adventurer tweeted on Friday; his post has been retweeted over 12,000 times since it was shared on the social media platform almost 12 hours ago.
The Discovery Channel programme saw PM Modi roughing it out with Grylls in the rain and harsh cold in the jungles amidst tigers and wild elephants. The duo also crossed a fast-flowing river in a raft made of reed.
During the programme, the Prime Minister talked about his humble beginnings as a tea-seller's son and the solo trips he undertook to the Himalayas during his youth as part of his spiritual awakenings.
Modi had said then that the show was being filmed to throw "light on environmental conservation and climate change," a cause that is close to his heart.
The Prime Minister is in fact spearheading global efforts to combat climate change with India as a prominent member of the Paris Agreement.
A senior government official commenting on the issue said that the PM had made the country proud at the G20 summit in November last year when he pointed out that "India is not only meeting Paris Agreement targets, but also exceeding them."
Spelling out his green policy, the PM had said, "We are focused on saving citizens and the economy from the pandemic, but it is equally important to focus on fighting climate change."
The official said it is indeed ironic that given his commitment to fight climate change, the PM is being associated with a controversy triggered by a tweet purportedly from celebrity environmentalist Greta Thunberg who shot into global fame for challenging world leaders to take immediate action against climate change.
