New Delhi: “He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother" — the ballad first written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell became a hit in 1970 after singer Neil Diamond picked it up. Cut to 2018, the speech by the leader of the world’s largest democracy has brought back memories of the song.
During his speech on Wednesday night in London, Prime Minister Narendra Modi narrated a century-old incident which resonated the feelings being conveyed in the song.
Responding to a question on how he had so much energy to work 20 hours a day, PM Modi narrated an incident involving a saint and an eight-year-old girl.
“There was an eight-year-old girl carrying her three-year-old brother atop a mountain. The saint, who was meditating there asked her ‘aren’t you tired?’ The young girl responded saying — ‘he’s my brother’. The saint asked the same question thrice and received the same answer every time."
“There is no weight when it comes to your brother. And for me, 1.25 billion Indians are my family," he said to thundering applause from the crowd. Modi further went on to draw connections between his position as PM and the role that a family member plays when someone gets sick.
“No matter how tired you are, when you hear that your family member is unwell and in the hospital, you rush to be by their side. There is no tiredness when it comes to being with family," he said. Indeed, just the way the hit 1970s song says—
"So, on we go,
His welfare is my concern
No burden is he to bear
We'll get there
For I know
He would not encumber me
He ain't heavy, he's my brother."
On that note, here’s the full song:
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