PM Modi begins meditation at Vivekananda Rock Memorial

TAMIL lowing completion of his twomonths long high-pitch poll campaign across the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his 45-hour-long meditation on Thursday at the famed Vivekananda Rock Memorial After arriving from nearby Thiruvananthapuram by a helicopter, Modi worshipped at the Bhagavathi Amman temple and reached the rock memorial by a ferry service and started meditation that is scheduled to go on till June 1.

Clad in a dhoti and a white shawl, Modi prayed at the temple and circumambulated the 'garbhagriha. Priests performed a special arthi' and he was given temple 'prasad' that included a shawl and a framed photograph of the presiding deity of the temple.

Later, he reached the rock memorial by a ferry service operated by the state government-run shipping corporation and began his meditation at the 'dhyan mandapam. Before he embarked on the dhyan exercise, for a while, Modi stood on the stairs leading to the mandapam that offers breathtaking views of the sea that surrounds the memorial from all sides.